Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region

 

Working closely together across our local authorities means that we can improve our communities and make our city region somewhere we can all be proud of.

“For too long, too many decisions about our future have been taken too far away by people who don’t understand or care about our region.

We live in a country where power and wealth are concentrated in the capital, and where other major cities and regions have been starved of investment and deprived of opportunity.

Having a Mayor to provide joined-up government, and a single influential voice on the national and world stage, has given London even more clout and influence. We now have the chance to give our city region the same kind of strategic and democratically accountable leadership.

A Metro Mayor and Combined Authority gives us a stronger voice and the opportunity to pool our strengths and talents to our mutual advantage.

It’s a chance to work together to attract global investment, modernize our transport system, transform education and skills provision, plan future housing allocation and work together to solve common problems and grasp the big opportunities.

I am excited and optimistic about the future, because I believe in the energy and creativity of our people and our businesses. I know how much we can achieve together.

We are a region that pioneered radical social reforms, revolutionized public service, created world-class businesses and world changing technologies.

We are innovators and pioneers, we find new answers and invent new models, and where we see problems we devise our own solutions. We are creative and ambitious, but we are also compassionate and fair. We know, from experience, that we are stronger when we stand together.

Sometimes people in power, and elected politicians, can become distant and disconnected. I stood for Metro Mayor to make a difference where it really matters – in the place I was born and will always call home.

My vision is based on a set of core ideas that define what kind of region we want to be – a region that is ambitious, fair, green, connected and together.

Devolution is our chance to deal with the things that matter most to our City Region and create a future rooted in our shared values and aspirations. It’s about taking back control, making decisions in our own interests and releasing the potential of a region with a rich history and extraordinary character.

It’s an opportunity that’s simply too important to be squandered. So, let’s grasp it together.”

Steve Rotheram