A GUIDE TO THE METRO MAYOR ELECTION FOR THE LIVERPOOL CITY REGION COMBINED AUTHORITY AREA A GUIDE TO THE METRO MAYOR ELECTION

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AUTHORITY AREA A GUIDE TO THE METRO MAYOR ELECTION FOR THE WEST

1 NUDGE KNOWLEDGE BRIEFING METRO MAYORS 2017 METRO MAYORS 2017 A GUIDE TO THE METRO MAYOR ELECTION FOR THE LIVERPOOL CITY REGION COMBINED AUTHORITY AREA A GUIDE TO THE METRO MAYOR ELECTION FOR THE WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY AREA UPDATED JANUARY 2017 UPDATED 16 th JANUARY 2017

2 LIVERPOOL CITY REGION METRO MAYOR ELECTION 2017 A GUIDE There are currently 1 six Metro Mayor elections scheduled to be held on May 4 th 2017: in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Tees Valley, West of England, and Peterborough and Cambridgeshire. We have produced a Nudge Knowledge series providing separate short briefing packs for each Metro Mayor election. This note focuses specifically on the Liverpool City Region. In it, we take a look at what exactly a Metro Mayor is, the boundaries of the area they will cover, and what powers the Mayor will have once elected. We also provide background analysis of the election itself, with details of candidates, party manifesto commitments, a breakdown of previous election results across the local authorities making up the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Area, as well as some basic demographic data for the region. The briefing will be updated periodically as and when additional candidates put themselves forward and manifestos are published. In putting together this guide we have drawn on a number of different sources: Demographic and economic data is drawn from the Office for National Statistics. Parliamentary and local election results have been taken from the relevant local authority webpages. Information about the powers of Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor and the devolution deal agreed with the Government is taken directly from the official deal document. Information about candidates and manifesto commitments has come from political party and various news websites. For background on Metro Mayors we have enjoyed reading the excellent and helpful articles from the Centre for Cities website. If you have any questions about this briefing, please contact David Park via david@nudgefactory.co.uk. 1 As of 16 th January It is possible more devolution deals might be agreed with Government leading to Metro Mayor elections in other parts of the country. Moreover, a deal had been agreed with Sheffield City Region but a successful legal challenge that ruled there had been a lack of consultation of Chesterfield residents means that election is now likely delayed until 2018, although there is a chance the whole deal could now unravel.

3 WHAT IS A METRO MAYOR? Combined Authorities were introduced in England by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act This allowed councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships to voluntarily pool their resources to co-ordinate and deliver policies across their combined boundaries. The 2015 Conservative Government continued this trend towards devolution and passed the 2016 Cities and Local Government Devolution Act, which made it possible for Combined Authorities to gain greater powers. However, a condition for receiving these extra powers was the introduction of greater political accountability across the area in the form of a directly elected Mayor or, as has become common parlance, a Metro Mayor. A Metro Mayor will, in effect, act as a directly elected Chair to a Combined Authority area. Mayors will work with leaders of the local authorities to set out a strategic direction for boosting the economy across the area, focussing on issues such as housing, transport, employment, healthcare, or even, in some cases, taking on the role of Police and Crime Commissioner for the region. They will not take over the running of local public services though (e.g. street cleaning or schools), which will still be delivered directly by local councils. However, each devolution deal has to be negotiated separately, and so each Metro Mayor and Combined Authority will have slightly different powers. It is also worth noting that precedent from previous devolution packages i.e. Scotland, Wales and London would suggest that more powers are likely to be delegated over time. There are a number of checks and balances in place to limit the decision-making ability of the Mayor. Each Mayor must appoint a Deputy, who must be a leader of one of the local authorities within the Combined Authority area. The Deputy, together with other local authority leaders in the area, will form a Combined Authority cabinet. The Mayor can delegate powers to cabinet members and the cabinet acts as a check on the Mayor. A 2/3 majority can override a Mayor s strategy or amend a budget. An overview and scrutiny committee will also be created for the Combined Authority area, with one member from each local authority. As of 16 th January, devolution deals have been agreed with Greater Manchester, Tees Valley, West Midlands, Liverpool City Region, West of England and Peterborough and Cambridgeshire. All of these areas will see elections for Metro Mayors on 4th May A deal had been agreed with Sheffield City Region but a recent court case means that election is now likely delayed until 2018, although there is a chance the whole deal could now unravel. The Government continue to have discussions with other areas about devolution packages and so it is possible there will be more Metro Mayor elections in other parts of the country in future. AREAS WITH METRO MAYOR ELECTIONS IN 2017

4 WHAT IS THE DEAL FOR LIVERPOOL CITY REGION? NUDGE KNOWLEDGE BRIEFING The constituent local authorities of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority area are Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton, Knowsley, Wirral and Halton. It is residents of these local authorities who will elect their first Metro Mayor on 4 th May The Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor will receive 900 million in funding over a 30-year period - 30 million per annum - and some control of Education & Skills, Housing and Planning, and Transport. These powers will include: Joint control and responsibility with Westminster on designing an employment support programme for the long-term unemployed Full control of the Adult Skills budget, and the ability to review Further Education provisions for those aged Strategic planning and compulsory purchase powers Control of the transport budget, including highways funding The ability to call-in planning applications A full list of powers can be found in the Liverpool City Region Devolution Agreement document. In some metro mayor areas, the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner can either remain unchanged with a directly elected individual in the post, or be merged with the Mayoral role to come under the scope of their control, if the sitting Commissioner agrees. In the case of Liverpool, there are currently no plans to merge the two positions. However, as devolution talks are a continual processes, this could perhaps change in the years approaching 2020, when both the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Mayor have their next election date.

METRO MAYOR CANDIDATES FOR THE LIVERPOOL CITY REGION COMBINED

the City of Liverpool Conservative party.

textile company specialising in cushions, located in the Knowsley.

Created his own company Rotherham Builders at the age of 22, and

Cashman was the party s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for

candidate. Tom Crone Councillor for St Michaels Ward since 2014.

mayoral election, In 2012 and 2016, he was the Conservative

election, finishing in seventh and sixth place respectively.

Ward, which is in the constituency he now represents.

He is currently studying for a Masters in Philosophy at the

5 METRO MAYOR CANDIDATES FOR THE LIVERPOOL CITY REGION COMBINED AUTHORITY AREA Tony Caldeira A businessman and former Chair of the City of Liverpool Conservative party. He is the founder and Managing Director of Caldeira, a home textile company specialising in cushions, located in the Knowsley. Steve Rotherham MP for Liverpool Walton since Created his own company Rotherham Builders at the age of 22, and later gained a Masters from Liverpool Hope University in Contemporary Urban Renaissance. Carl Cashman Councillor for Prescott Ward in Knowsley. Cashman was the party s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency of Knowsley in the 2015 General Election, finishing third. Candidate McCandidateFace UKIP have yet to announce their candidate. Tom Crone Councillor for St Michaels Ward since In 2016 Crone was also the Green party candidate for that year s mayoral election, finishing third. In 2012 and 2016, he was the Conservative candidate in the Liverpool City directly elected mayoral election, finishing in seventh and sixth place respectively. From 2002 until 2010, Rotherham was a Councillor for Fazakerley Ward, which is in the constituency he now represents. He was also Lord Mayor from He is currently studying for a Masters in Philosophy at the University of Liverpool having previously completed a degree in Politics. OTHER CANDIDATES No independent or other party candidates have yet declared. He is currently Parliamentary Private Secretary to Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn. This section will be updated as details become available.

6 MANIFESTO WATCH (Updated January 2017) Candidates will release their full manifestos much closer to the actual date of the election on May 4 th. We will update this page with a much more comprehensive analysis of policies once those manifestos have been released. Whilst there have been little in the way of concrete policies put forward as yet, some of the candidates have already given some indication of their policies and we have summarised these below. The Northern Powerhouse Businessman and Conservative candidate Tony Caldeira has said his focus will be on economic and jobs growth, saying the region lags behind others with the UK and that Liverpool needs to not only catch up to, but to overtake, our competitors, both at home and abroad. Steve Rotherham the Labour candidate has said that the devolution is an opportunity to wrestle power away from Whitehall and give decision making powers to local areas to lessen what he has described as the widening North-South divide. Housing On the issue of housing, Tony Caldeira has promised to use mayoral powers to speed up planning processes, and allow more home and workplace builds on brownfield sites.

7 2015 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS

8 2016 LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS

9 2016 EU REFERENDUM RESULT

10 ELECTION ANALYSIS LABOUR LANDSLIDE? The result of the Metro Mayor election for the Liverpool City Region looks to be the least competitive of all the elections due on 4 th May. Anything other than a Labour win would be a huge political shock. Labour won a massive 60% of the vote at the 2015 General Election, with the Conservatives trailing home in second with under 20%. In a highprofile setback, the Conservative Cabinet Minister Esther McVey lost her seat, one of a handful of Labour gains across the country. All in all Labour won 19 of the 21 Parliamentary constituencies, with the Lib Dems and Conservatives hanging on to just one seat each. (General election 2015) Votes Percentage Labour 456, % Conservative 148, % UKIP 79, % Lib Dem 39, % Green 26, % Others 5, % Total 755,407 Unlike in other parts of the country, UKIP failed to make a breakthrough, scoring just over 10% of the vote. Even the now UKIP leader Paul Nuttall only managed to poll 10.9% in Bootle. This is perhaps unsurprising as the EU referendum vote of 2016 did not have a large Leave majority, but instead a relatively even split between Leave and Remain. There seems little scope for a UKIP surge eating into the Labour vote in this part of the country, at least for the present time. Local election results reinforce the impression of a near-certain Labour win. Whilst the Labour vote fell to just 53% at the local elections held across the region in 2016, no other party managed to pick up more than 15%. However, it is worth noting that the Lib Dems polled much better in these local elections, and that they have had some historical successes across the region in the not too distant past. This makes any challenge most likely to come from the Lib Dems, although they seem really to just be in a fight for second place. (Local Elections mix of all out & 1/ ) Votes Percentage Labour 176, % Conservative 51, % UKIP 20, % Lib Dem 43, % Green 21, % Others 18, % Total 332,356 In short, unless there is a late entry into the race from a seriously well-funded, well known and credible independent candidate, it is hard to see how Steve Rotherham will not wake up as the new Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region on 5 th May. CONCLUSION ALMOST CERTAIN LABOUR WIN 2 Mix of all out elections and 1/3 seats in Where all out, we have averaged the party vote in each ward to ensure compatibility.

11 HOUSEBUILDING

12 SELECTED DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

If you would like a more in-depth analysis about this or other upcoming Metro Mayor elections, or would like to discuss how Nudge Factory might be able to assist you in producing other briefings or

13 If you would like a more in-depth analysis about this or other upcoming Metro Mayor elections, or would like to discuss how Nudge Factory might be able to assist you in producing other briefings or reports, please contact us using the details below: Ahzaz Chowdhury Managing Partner D: +44 (0) E: az@nudgefactory.co.uk David Park Partner D: +44 (0) E: david@nudgefactory.co.uk Nudge Factory is a Public and Corporate Affairs consultancy based in the United Kingdom. Our team uses its experience to assist our clients influence policy and opinion. From local communities to town halls, to City Hall and Westminster; our bespoke strategies help some of the biggest names in the corporate world win hearts and minds. Our expertise spans five practices and provides support for our clients in all areas of their businesses. Our partners and senior team have decades of experience in some of the most demanding environments in national and local politics and a passion for problem-solving. Working closely with your organisation we will draw up a strategy that fits your priorities. PUBLIC AFFAIRS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS CSR & SOCIAL VALUE PRIVATE CLIENT Unit 35, Centrale, Keeley Road, Croydon, CR0 1TF, UK +44 (0)

NUDGE KNOWLEDGE BRIEFING METRO MAYORS 2017 A GUIDE TO THE METRO MAYOR ELECTION FOR THE GREATER MANCHESTER COMBINED AUTHORITY AREA

NUDGE KNOWLEDGE BRIEFING METRO MAYORS 2017 A GUIDE TO THE METRO MAYOR ELECTION FOR THE GREATER MANCHESTER COMBINED AUTHORITY AREA METRO MAYORS 2017 A GUIDE TO THE METRO MAYOR ELECTION FOR THE GREATER MANCHESTER COMBINED AUTHORITY AREA A GUIDE TO THE METRO MAYOR ELECTION FOR THE A GUIDE WEST MIDLANDS TO THE METRO COMBINED MAYOR AUTHORITY