The shortlist to be the next leader of the Liverpool Labour group has been confirmed.
A total of three sitting councillors will contest a week-long process to succeed Mayor Joanne Anderson as the leader of the group currently in control of the local authority and guide them into next May’s all out elections.
After at least five candidates put their names forward, it has now been confirmed that Cllrs Liam Robinson, Ruth Bennett and Liz Parsons have been shortlisted to feature on the final ballot.
READ MORE: Schoolchildren forced to walk past bus stop where man found dead
Cllrs Barry Kushner and Frazer Lake had also sought to be the next figurehead of the party and potentially next leader of the city council but did not make it through to the next stage of the process.
The group will hold a hustings event on Monday November 28 before a vote to confirm the new party leader. Mayor Anderson is not standing for re-election as the council moves to a leader and cabinet model. She will leave the council altogether after May's elections.
It is thought the individual chosen will focus on the impending campaign while the outgoing Mayor focuses on the direction of the city. Nominations closed for the role on Friday with candidates nominated following an interview process.
The Mayoral model was formally done away with during a meeting of the full council in July. After being reintroduced under then-leader Joe Anderson in 2012, the position was scrapped following a highly contentious consultation with the city, whereby the adopted leader and cabinet model was the third choice of respondents.
The current Mayor had pledged to hold a city-wide referendum on whether to scrap the mayoralty when she campaigned to replace her namesake last year. However, she and the council chose to instead hold a cheaper public consultation. Despite the council's claims over costs, many people were frustrated not to be given a vote on how the city is run going forward. They were even more frustrated by the way the public consultation was carried out and the subsequent actions of the Labour group.
Just 4% of the city's residents took part in the consultation and of that number, more than 40% said they would prefer to keep the mayoral system. Around 32% opted for the committee system while just 24% went for the leader and cabinet model.
Despite the leader system finishing last of three, the Labour group on the council immediately stated that it intended to support that style of leadership, arguing that the poor response rate of the consultation meant it was not representative. Ahead of her replacement being selected, Mayor Anderson said being chosen to serve as the city’s first official had been one of the greatest honours of her life.
She said: “As a Labour group we have had discussions about the benefits of bringing in an additional leader now, who can focus on leading the Labour campaign, while I focus on leading the city. My role as Mayor remains unchanged, but this additional leadership will enable me to have a razor-sharp focus on delivering improvements and putting policies in place that truly benefit the people of Liverpool.
“In my remaining term, I will be concentrating on delivering transformations to services in order to set a balanced budget. Being Mayor has been one of the greatest honours of my life and my role and commitment to lead the people of Liverpool remains the same.”
It is thought that the reduction of councillors from 90 to 85 and the change to leader and cabinet model from next May could save Liverpool Council almost half a million pounds in the next three years.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
READ NEXT:
Man who 'always had people laughing' found dead at Kirkdale station
Live updates as police cordon off road
Man found dead at Liverpool bus stop
Find the coins hidden on the ECHO website for the chance to win a £200 voucher
Multi million pound mansion up for grabs in 'exclusive' part of Merseyside
