Residents of the Liverpool City Region will be able to vote for their Metro Mayor on May 2nd. Here’s a Mersey News Live explainer to answer your questions on who the current mayor is, who the candidates are and what the Metro Mayor can do.
The position of Mayor of the Liverpool City Region was created in 2017. Labour’s Steve Rotherham won the inaugural election and has held the office ever since.
The Mayor chairs the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and is responsible for a consolidated transport budget, economic development in the region, the adult skills budget and strategic planning for land.
This election will be the first to use first-past-the-post to elect the mayor, whereas the previous elections in 2017 and 2021 used the supplementary vote system.
This means voters will be able to vote for a single candidate, and the candidate receiving the most votes will be elected mayor.
All registered electors living in the Liverpool City Region aged 18 or over on the 2nd May will be entitled to vote in the mayoral election.
Those who are temporarily away from Liverpool (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital) will also be entitled to vote in the mayoral election.
The deadline to register to vote in the election was the 16th April 2024.
The candidates are:
- Steve Rotheram for the Labour Party
- Jade Marsden for the Conservative Party
- Tom Crone for the Green Party
- Rob MacAllister-Bell for the Liberal Democrats
- And Independent candidate Ian Smith
For profiles of all five, see the Politics section of merseynewslive.co.uk
Reporting by George James.
Image courtesy of Alamy under agreed license.
