BALLOT boxes have been placed in One Stop Shops and libraries in Liverpool for people to express a preference on how the city is governed.
It is the latest phase of a consultation with residents, who are being asked the question: “How would you like Liverpool City Council to be run?”
The options are the three forms of governance that are allowed by law:
- By a Mayor who is directly elected by voters every 4 years (current system)
- By a Leader who is an elected councillor, chosen by a vote of the other elected councillors
- By one or more Committees made up of elected councillors
Letters have already been sent to households with a link to a secure portal where residents can have their say, or request a paper copy of the voting form.
Now, to make it as easy as possible for people to have their say, voting forms and ballot boxes are also being placed in the following 18 locations:
- Central Library
- Allerton Library
- Breck Road Library
- Childwall Library
- Croxteth Library
- Dovecot Library
- Fazakerley Library
- Garston Library and One Stop Shop
- Kensington Library
- Kirkdale One Stop Shop
- Lee Valley Library
- Norris Green Library
- Parklands Library and One Stop Shop
- Old Swan Library
- Sefton Park Library
- Toxteth Library
- Wavertree Library
- West Derby Library
OTHER WAYS TO HAVE YOUR SAY
Website: https://liverpoolourwayforward.com/.
Email: governanceconsultation@liverpool.gov.uk
Write: Electoral Services, Liverpool City Council, Cunard Building, Water Street, Liverpool, L3 1AH,
If writing, or emailing, please include your name, address and postcode – this is to ensure that we do not receive multiple responses from a single person.
A Privacy Notice setting out how the information is being stored and processed is available at https://liverpoolourwayforward.com/privacy-policy/.
The consultation is ongoing until 20 June.
The outcome will be reported to Full Council and the elected members will then make the final decision on whether to change governance arrangements, taking into account people’s views.
If Full Council agrees to make a change in governance, it will take effect from the elections in May 2023 and will be binding on the Council for five years.
It will still be possible to hold a referendum in this period if a petition of 5% of electors is presented to the council asking for a referendum of Liverpool electors to vote on whether to change the governance model.
City Solicitor, Dan Fenwick, said:
“We want to give as many people as possible the chance to have their say over the future governance of Liverpool City Council.
“We’ve introduced this to ensure that those without access to the online survey have an additional way to respond in addition to emailing the council or in writing. We recognise that not everyone has easy access to a computer, which is why we are taking the step of putting ballot boxes in key locations spread across the city. For security reasons, they are sealed and will only be opened during the evaluation.
“If you have already had your say, please do so. If you have, please do not submit further comments. We will be checking for duplicate responses to check for multiple responses.
“People’s views in the consultation will be reported back to the Council, which will make the final decision on whether to keep the mayoralty or move to a different model of governance from May 2023.”