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| Liverpool picks directly elected mayor: Live blog from the campaign | Liverpool picks directly elected mayor: Live blog from the campaign |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 8.31am: I'm off to an event now where I'll be meeting Joe Anderson, the Labour candidate. I probably won't be posting again until around 11am. | |
| 8.23am: Alert readers will have noticed something obvious about the people on the list of candidates. None of them are women. | 8.23am: Alert readers will have noticed something obvious about the people on the list of candidates. None of them are women. |
| This is something that has alarmed some people in the city. This is what Flo Clucas, a former deputy leader of the council, told the Liverpool Post. | This is something that has alarmed some people in the city. This is what Flo Clucas, a former deputy leader of the council, told the Liverpool Post. |
| I think it's a terrible shame there are no women there. Mayor elections are dominated by men wherever they happen in the world. | I think it's a terrible shame there are no women there. Mayor elections are dominated by men wherever they happen in the world. |
| And this is what Richard Kemp, the Lib Dem mayoral candidate, wrote about the subject on his blog. | And this is what Richard Kemp, the Lib Dem mayoral candidate, wrote about the subject on his blog. |
| I am not surprised by this. There have been 21 people who have been elected mayors in England. Only two of them have been women and only one, Mayor Thornhill in Watford, has been around for any length of time. | I am not surprised by this. There have been 21 people who have been elected mayors in England. Only two of them have been women and only one, Mayor Thornhill in Watford, has been around for any length of time. |
| Does anyone know if it is true that mayoral elections are always dominated by men around the world (compared to other elections)? I haven't seen any figures on this, but it certainly sounds plausible. Why? For the same reason cited by a report from the Hansard Society last year which said that, although women were just as likely to sign petitions as men, they were far less likely to get involved in other political activities like blogging. | |
The evidence for online politics suggests that the more an activity involves self-promotion, the more likely there is to be a male dominance. | The evidence for online politics suggests that the more an activity involves self-promotion, the more likely there is to be a male dominance. |
| In London, as we know, mayoral politics involves self-promotion on an Olympic scale. Is it the same in Liverpool? I'll have a better idea by this afternoon. | In London, as we know, mayoral politics involves self-promotion on an Olympic scale. Is it the same in Liverpool? I'll have a better idea by this afternoon. |
| 8.07am: Back to Liverpool. For the record, here are the 12 candidates standing in the mayoral election. | 8.07am: Back to Liverpool. For the record, here are the 12 candidates standing in the mayoral election. |
| Joe Anderson – Labour Jeff Berman – Liverpool Independent party Tony Caldeira – Conservative John Coyne – Green Liam Fogarty - Independent Adam Heatherington – Ukip Richard Kemp – Lib Dem Tony Mulhearn – Trade Union and Socialist Coalition Peter Quiggins – National Front Steve Radford – Liberal party Paul Rimmer – English Democrats Mike Whitby – BNP | Joe Anderson – Labour Jeff Berman – Liverpool Independent party Tony Caldeira – Conservative John Coyne – Green Liam Fogarty - Independent Adam Heatherington – Ukip Richard Kemp – Lib Dem Tony Mulhearn – Trade Union and Socialist Coalition Peter Quiggins – National Front Steve Radford – Liberal party Paul Rimmer – English Democrats Mike Whitby – BNP |
| You can read the official election booklet, with statements from all the candidates, here (pdf). | You can read the official election booklet, with statements from all the candidates, here (pdf). |
| 7.55am: Before we get going, here's a short reading list about directly elected mayors. | 7.55am: Before we get going, here's a short reading list about directly elected mayors. |
| • A report from the Institute for Government called What can elected mayors do for our cities? (pdf) • A report from the Warwick Commission on elected mayors | • A report from the Institute for Government called What can elected mayors do for our cities? (pdf) • A report from the Warwick Commission on elected mayors |
| • A blog from Michael White on the Warwick Commission report | • A blog from Michael White on the Warwick Commission report |
| In a session on the important, but much-ignored, question of local democracy and directly elected local mayors, it's hard not to warm to a speaker who starts by contrasting the Anglo-Saxon model of decentralism with the rival inheritance of the Norman yoke, which tried to run a conquered England from Westminster. | In a session on the important, but much-ignored, question of local democracy and directly elected local mayors, it's hard not to warm to a speaker who starts by contrasting the Anglo-Saxon model of decentralism with the rival inheritance of the Norman yoke, which tried to run a conquered England from Westminster. |
| But that was what Keith Grint, professor of public leadership and management at Warwick University's business school, did yesterday in launching the latest in a series of Warwick Commissions, this one on the pros and cons of the mayoral option for major English cities. | But that was what Keith Grint, professor of public leadership and management at Warwick University's business school, did yesterday in launching the latest in a series of Warwick Commissions, this one on the pros and cons of the mayoral option for major English cities. |
| • A column from John Harris casting doubt on the benefits of directly elected mayors | • A column from John Harris casting doubt on the benefits of directly elected mayors |
| Liverpool, though, has decided to jump straight in, and nominations closed last week. By way of heralding a fresh start, all 12 candidates are white men, the frontrunner is the current leader of the city's Labour council, and as if to decisively push things into the 21st century, the field also includes Tony Mulhearn, whose had his last turn on the national stage when he and Derek Hatton were pioneering municipal Trotksyism. How any of this is meant to get Liverpool going is anyone's guess. | Liverpool, though, has decided to jump straight in, and nominations closed last week. By way of heralding a fresh start, all 12 candidates are white men, the frontrunner is the current leader of the city's Labour council, and as if to decisively push things into the 21st century, the field also includes Tony Mulhearn, whose had his last turn on the national stage when he and Derek Hatton were pioneering municipal Trotksyism. How any of this is meant to get Liverpool going is anyone's guess. |
| • A column from Simon Jenkins praising directly elected mayors | • A column from Simon Jenkins praising directly elected mayors |
| [Ken] Livingstone in 2000 transformed leadership in the capital from a closed party mafia (including himself) to a personality on a par with other world cities. The impact was immediate. The London mandate secured more cash for police and transport and spattered central London with lofty towers. In the past four years his successor, Boris Johnson, has subsidised cycling and dug up every road. Like them or loathe them, these men have put city politics on the map. Hustings are packed. London's civic life has never been so vibrant. | [Ken] Livingstone in 2000 transformed leadership in the capital from a closed party mafia (including himself) to a personality on a par with other world cities. The impact was immediate. The London mandate secured more cash for police and transport and spattered central London with lofty towers. In the past four years his successor, Boris Johnson, has subsidised cycling and dug up every road. Like them or loathe them, these men have put city politics on the map. Hustings are packed. London's civic life has never been so vibrant. |
| 7.30am: "The mayor of Liverpool, when elected in May, will become well known nationally." So says Tony Travers in a recent report from the Institute for Government on directly elected mayors (pdf). I'm in Liverpool today to cover the mayoral election campaign and I'll be speaking to the favourite, Labour's Joe Anderson (currently leader of the council) and some of his rivals. If Travers is right, you'll be hearing a lot more about Liverpool's mayor after May. As my colleague Martin Wainwright wrote recently in a blog about the contest, the winner will be "the first really big city mayor outside London". Today I want to learn about the candidates. | 7.30am: "The mayor of Liverpool, when elected in May, will become well known nationally." So says Tony Travers in a recent report from the Institute for Government on directly elected mayors (pdf). I'm in Liverpool today to cover the mayoral election campaign and I'll be speaking to the favourite, Labour's Joe Anderson (currently leader of the council) and some of his rivals. If Travers is right, you'll be hearing a lot more about Liverpool's mayor after May. As my colleague Martin Wainwright wrote recently in a blog about the contest, the winner will be "the first really big city mayor outside London". Today I want to learn about the candidates. |
| But I also want to find out whether Travers really is right. The government is strongly promoting directly elected mayors and on Thursday 3 May Salford will also be electing one for the first time, while another 10 cities will be holding referendums on whether or not to adopt the directly elected mayoral model. As a London-based journalist, I know what the mayoral system has done for the capital. But what are mayoral campaigns like outside London? Are they really going to revive interest in local democracy and usher in a new generation of dynamic, accountable leaders? Or is it just the same old local government politics under a new name? Liverpool seems a good place to pose the question. | But I also want to find out whether Travers really is right. The government is strongly promoting directly elected mayors and on Thursday 3 May Salford will also be electing one for the first time, while another 10 cities will be holding referendums on whether or not to adopt the directly elected mayoral model. As a London-based journalist, I know what the mayoral system has done for the capital. But what are mayoral campaigns like outside London? Are they really going to revive interest in local democracy and usher in a new generation of dynamic, accountable leaders? Or is it just the same old local government politics under a new name? Liverpool seems a good place to pose the question. |
| If you've got thoughts on any of this, whether you live in Liverpool or not, please post them below. | If you've got thoughts on any of this, whether you live in Liverpool or not, please post them below. |
| I'll be in the city all day, attending a campaign event, interviewing candidates and talking to voters, and I'll be posting updates as I go along. If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm on @AndrewSparrow. And, if you're a hard-core fan, you can follow @gdnpoliticslive. It's an automated feed that tweets the start of every new post that I put on the blog. | I'll be in the city all day, attending a campaign event, interviewing candidates and talking to voters, and I'll be posting updates as I go along. If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm on @AndrewSparrow. And, if you're a hard-core fan, you can follow @gdnpoliticslive. It's an automated feed that tweets the start of every new post that I put on the blog. |