Live: A gathering of councillors at Liverpool town hall
Dolly Parton, Tolstoy, Burnham, Palantir, a road safety emergency - and why Liverpool Foundation Homes hasn’t been shut down yet
Last time all of Liverpool’s councillors met together it was in the heat of summer. Now, we’re in the heat of autumn, sort of, and as many of the city’s 85 councillors as can make it will be descending on Liverpool Town Hall tonight for the latest full council meeting.
There’s a fairly busy agenda, with councillors due to discuss issues ranging from big changes to how planning decisions are made, to tighter rules around alcohol licensing, public transport, road safety, climate change and more besides.
There are also a number of political motions and amendments likely to spark some debate before the meeting rattles through a batch of cross-party motions at the end. Ahead of the meeting, you can get up to speed on some of what’s due to be discussed in our weekly round-up, here:
‘A complete failure’ and a ‘direct attack on municipal autonomy’: a week in local democracy
What will our local councillors be going on about this week?
Lisa Rand
We’ll be reporting live from the town hall from just before the meeting begins. You can tune in from 4pm-ish to our live blog below, which will update automatically with the most recent posts appearing at the top.
what happened
- Cllr Alan Gibbons started quoting Tolstoy, Cllr Westhead quizzed her leader about Dolly Parton, Cllr Munby was warned he might get ‘evicted’, Cllr Radford got told off for eating dinner, Cllr Corbett railed against the scourge of neoliberalism and there turned out to be an ‘elephant in the room.’
- Also, Labour and Lib Dem councillors argued over Liverpool Foundation Homes, its failure, losses and why its winding-up has still not been completed.
- Councillors were told its winding up is not complete because the council is waiting for an upturn in the market before disposing of its remaining properties and winding it up.
- New planning rules coming into force on 31 October will mean more applications are decided by officers instead of councillors, prompting concerns about loss of local democratic control.
- A Labour public transport motion was passed after a debate over bus franchising, Merseyrail, hydrogen buses, bendy buses, accessibility and whether Liverpool should be going after tram and rail expansion.
- Councillors also backed Liverpool’s new licensing policy, including an expectation that newly licensed off licences would normally stop selling alcohol at midnight.
- The chair of the licensing committee was ‘not happy’ about an amendment by her own group’s leader that Cllr Robinson said was aimed at aligning the policy with the new draft local plan.
- Proposed new powers for regional mayors to intervene in major planning decisions led to opposition councillors warning they could weaken local control.
- There was also a motion on proportional representation, amended by Labour before being passed and a motion on Palantir, expressing alarm and concern over the company and its access to data.
- A number of cross-party motions were agreed without debate, including around road safety, which means the city has now declared a Road Safety Emergency.
- And,a few councillors had a few words about Burnham, too.
as it happened
Scroll to the bottom to read up from the start
We forgot to ask the other parties what their preferred collective term is for a gathering. Answers on a postcard please and thanks for following along tonight.
Meeting is done.
8.16pm - Cross party motions now, lots of shouts of ‘agreed’. These motions get agreed without debate.
8.15pm - Labour amendment voted on and carried then onto the main motion- unanimous .
8.14pm - He gives an example of St Helens where Labour got 28% of the votes and two seats while Reform got 40% and most seats.
8.12pm - ‘Let’s do the right thing now’ says Cllr Radford, quoting from Cllr Nicholas earlier on Palantir.
8.11pm - Cllr Maloney is quoting the difference between votes and seats and what proportional representation would have given.
8.09pm - He’s saying we shouldn’t wait for a ‘grand commission’ and instead ‘adopt the divine gospel of discontent’ and have Liverpool lead by example.
Tolstoy
8.08pm - Cllr Gibbons is quoting Tolstoy.
8.06pm - Green councillor Paul Ruddick is saying he welcomes the motion and the national commission. He says the Labour amendment ‘kicks it into the long grass’ and that a referendum is unlikely to be needed.
8.05pm - He said he’s concerned over the ‘unilateral’ nature of the motion and would rather see all local authorities ‘doing this at once’.
8.04pm - Cllr Roberts is speaking. ‘I’m a strong supporter of PR’ he said. ‘It’s about that principle of the percentage of votes equalling the percentage of seats’.
8pm - Labour have an amendment on this - over a National Commission for Electoral Reform, something Burnham also spoke about at conference yesterday.
The ‘uniparty’
8pm - ‘How many young people vote?’ He says we should ‘look at the figures’ and talks about the ‘uniparty’.
As the clock moves towards 8pm, Cllr Radford’s brief motion about the single transferable vote is up next. Cllr Lake said he’d be brief ‘and if you believe that you’ll believe anything’, adding: ‘We need to make voting attractive again’.
Vote on Labour amendment - Labour councillors all for, much of opposition against - it’s carried. Now a vote on the main motion - greens and independents against, an abstention or two but everyone else for so that carries.
‘Diluted’
7.55pm - A ‘political warning’ from Gibbons that a ‘diluted’ house-building strategy wouldn’t help counter the likes of Farage, he says.
7.54pm - Cllr Gibbons is speaking, far too fast, there’s lot of ‘why’ questions about a range of issues.
7,52pm - Cashman says he agrees with Cllrs Gibbons, Williams and Jarman on concerns about the changes. ‘This isn’t devolution’ he added, saying ‘that’s about giving people in their communities the power to shape their communities’.
7.51pm - ‘Local government shouldn’t just be a branch office of Westminster’ Cllr Jarman said, saying the Greens agree with the community independents.
7,50pm - Cllr Jarman, Greens, says these proposed planning changes ‘risk stripping away local democracy’ and taken the power away from local communities.
7.48pm - He’s talking about the mayoral development corporation now and collaborative working in the city region.
A ‘localist’
7.46pm - Cllr Small is moving the Labour amendment, speaking in favour of devolution ‘as a localist’. He said there are already call in powers - for the secretary of state and Whitehall. ‘It’s someone we haven’t voted for in Liverpool’ he says. ‘This is about making more decisions locally’.
Their original motion argues that the changes could allow mayors to overrule councils and weaken local democratic control, and calls on the Government to withdraw them. Labour have proposed a substantial rewrite.
We’re onto the Liverpool Community Independent motion now. The Liverpool Community Independents are challenging proposed new powers for regional mayors to intervene in major planning decisions.
7.42pm - Cllr Gibbons wants to shift the motions around to accommodate childcare needs for a councillor which was agreed. The meeting is being extended by 20 minutes.
7.41pm - So there’s a vote now on the amended motion as agreed outside of a vote, and that vote is to carry it.
7.39pm - There’s a bit of back and forth now because Cllr Nicholas is prepared to accept some of the Lib Dem amendment and she’s reading out which bits she’s ok with and not.
‘We cannot go down this neoliberalism route any longer’
7.36pm - Cllr Corbett is talking now about the need for an economy ‘built on the common good. We cannot go down this neoliberalism route any longer’ she said
7.34pm - There’s quite a list of strange details about Palantir’s owner and how other countries have responded to Palantir. ‘It would be good’ to see the UK ‘take a similar stance’ Crone added. He’s also talking about the ‘profit motive in public service delivery’ as being much more widely problematic and in need of urgent review.
7.33pm - Cllr Crone is speaking now on the Palantir motion. He said the ‘NHS is the closest this country has to a religion’. He’s talking about the problems with Palantir, espousing ‘un-British views’ around freedom and democracy.
The meeting is running 20 minutes late according to the chair and there’s still a bit to go - after this, we’re on to a succinct motion by Radford, there may be many here hoping the debate will also be succinct.
7.30pm - Lib Dem councillor Rebecca Turner is talking now about what medical data means and how records could contain something family don’t even know. ‘It’s completely reasonable for people whose information this is should ask serious questions about who’s involved.’
7,27pm - there is an amendment of the Lib Dems - ‘the addition of a few points that fully support the motion’.
A ‘devastating impact’
7.26pm - Cllr Harry Doyle is talking about a family member who has been in A&E recently and speaking about how health data is ‘the most sensitive data that is held by anyone’ that can have a ‘devastating impact’ in the wrong hands.
7.25pm - She is talking about the ‘responsibility to ensure our citizens are protected’ before running out of time. ‘We all use health and social care services and we do not want our data …’ she didn’t quite get to finish before being stopped by the chair as she was out of time.
7.22pm - Cllr Nicholas is talking on her Palantir motion now. She is asking the council to raise concerns about US data company Palantir, which holds a seven-year NHS England contract worth £330m for the Federated Data Platform. The motion calls on the Government to use a break clause in that contract and asks Cheshire and Merseyside ICB to disclose how extensively Palantir is being used locally.
7.19pm - Lot of names to read out, it’s still going on. The amendment was carried. The substantial one - the main motion - has been carried too.
7.16pm - Cllr Shortall is now telling Cllr Radford off for ‘eating dinner in the chamber’. After a bit of legal discussion, there is a named vote going on for those for or against the motion. That means every councillor’s name is being read out in turn.
‘Astonished’
7.14pm - Cashman is speaking now as mover of the motion. He’s ‘astonished’ he said about Bennett’s statement and is concerned rules were suspended to allow Labour to bring a last minute amendment. He said the ‘waste and financial mismanagement’ has had a devastating effect. He is angry about the amendment. We’re not sure what’s in it, it was handed out last minute, we’ll try and grab a copy …
7.10pm - ‘The brass neck of this motion’ says Cllr Ruth Bennett. She’s talking about LOBO loans and said this was local authorities taking a gamble with public money. Now she’s talking about Liberal democrat run council taking out loads of these loans - ‘how dare they lecture us’ she adds.
7.10pm - He says it’s all very well talking about council housing but is there the management and infrastructure?
7.o9pm - He’s now talking about ‘managerial incompetence’ which led to move towards social housing.
A history debate
7.07pm - Cllr Radford said this had become a ‘history debate’. He said council housing was ‘atrocious’ before the stock transfer.
7.06pm - ‘Please can we consign Foundations Homes to history and come up with a plan that is going to work for Liverpool residents’ Crone concludes.
7.05pm - Cllr Crone speaking now of 12,000 people on the social housing waiting list. ‘We know that other councils are delivering’ council housing for residents, he says and suggests the council looks elsewhere for ‘best practice.’
7.05pm - He’s now talking about Farage ‘seeking to weaponise the housing crisis’. There was applause after his speech.
‘Human misery and discontent’
7.03pm - He’s talking now of the ‘human misery and discontent’ brought about by the housing crisis. ‘You can’t stress council housing enough’ he added, with a little jibe at something Small said at a previous full council meeting about not stressing it ‘too much’.
7.02pm - Cllr Alan Gibbons, leader of Community Independents is speaking now. ‘The failure is because a secure strategy was not drawn up before setting a target’. He said the ‘context now is different, we’ve got no excuses’ and speaks of Burnham rhetoric about council house building ambitions.
7pm - He said when Lib Dems came into power in Liverpool in the late 90s and spoke to a then Labour housing minister, they said the city needed to get rid of housing stock. ‘The Blair and Brown government were enthusiastic supporters of the right to buy’ he claimed. ‘This is all about not having council housing in this city’.
7pm - Kemp is talking about back in the 90s and a process of ‘transferring every single council house, all 42 thousand of them, out of council control to housing associations’.
6.59pm - Kemp is speaking now, ‘For those of you who saw the local plan … will know that housing is a long term business’. He speaks of many houses being built before world war two. ‘We have got to think long term and we have to learn from our mistakes’ accusing Labour of not having done so.
6.58pm - Bit of mud slinging going on now between Cllrs Small, Kemp and others.
‘It won’t be best value’
6.56pm - He’s talking about closing down Foundations and said they’re deferring the disposal and winding up until ‘property values have improved’. He said he doesn’t know if the Lib Dems are advocating it should be immediately wound up. ‘That will incur a loss to the council and it won’t be best value’ he added.
6.55pm - He’s talking about changes in governance, including around council-owned companies. He said significantly it’s ‘as shareholders’ rather than in ‘dual roles’ as directors. ‘We are appraised regularly on the performance of all council owned companies’ he said.
6.55pm - Cllr Nick Small is speaking now. ‘The council as a whole accepted the findings of the Caller report’.
6.54pm - Ok we’re back with a reminder not to say anything that could impact on Operational Aloft.
6.40pm - We’re talking about council procedure rules being suspended to allow amendments to be considered. There’s a little bit of shouting out, there’s going to be a vote on the procedure motion. Lib Dems, Greens and community independents were against, but with all other councillors voting in favour, it has been carried. The meeting’s being adjourned for ten minutes because the amendment was only put out this afternoon.
‘Completely dysfunctional’
6.38pm - She said the company had to produce an income stream, had to find money for the salary bill and repaying a more than £1m loan from the council while building and refurbishing 10k homes without a major source of funding. ‘The business plan was completely dysfunctional’ she quotes she says from the Caller report.
6.37pm - Cllr Mullen is asking Labour if they could indicate the lessons learnt ‘from the catastrophic collapse of Liverpool Foundation Homes’. Cllr Mullen is speaking about the cabinet meeting where Liverpool Foundation Homes was announced and the ‘aspirations’ for the homes. Total salary bill for first year was £671k she said, which came out of equity investment. After that ‘it had to come out of the profits’ she said.
6.36pm - The Caller report was clear that LFH should have been closed down, Cashman said, with a million in losses ‘over its lifespan’. That could pay for 25 youth workers, he said. ‘It could have been used to clean up this city but instead it’s been lost to waste and incompetence’. If there’s nothing to hide, he added, then there’s no need for an amendment.
‘I knew that I liked you’
6.35pm - He’s talking about a contract and the mayor’s son and the flyover, accusing Labour councillors are having ‘sat on your hands’ and we’re talking about Foundation Homes. Someone shouted out ‘this goes into very dangerous territory’ that was Munby speaking. He’s shouting out here talking about legal positions. Shortall has threatened to have Munby ‘evicted’. ‘I knew that I liked you Lord Mayor’ says Cashman.
6.34pm - We’re on to Liverpool Foundation Homes (LFH) now. The houses below were 14 out of 18 actually built.
6.31pm - On to the substantial motion - as amended - it’s all a bit confusing Everyone seemed to have voted for it anyway so that’s passed.
6.30pm - Right, we’re on to voting now, the Liberal democrat amendment failed. The Green amendment is being put to a vote, which looks to be unanimous.
6.30pm - ‘This Labour council … are delivering’ he concluded.
6.29pm - Cllr Robinson is talking about ‘bus snobbery’ now. It’s getting a little bit lyrical, Cllr Robinson said he met Lib dem ministers when they were in government ‘and probably a candlestick maker as well’
6.28pm - Cllr Robinson said he was hoping the Lib Dem amendment might have talked about cable cars - something leader Cllr Cashman has been speaking about on social media recently. ‘Where’s the money for that’ he asked.
‘An elephant in the room’
6.27pm - There is an ‘elephant in the room’ apparently - wondered when that might turn up. It’s about a passenger line travelling through the eastern suburbs of the city ‘that would enable people to move from the north to the south of the city’.Think that was Cllr Lake speaking.
6.26pm - Green leader Cllr Crone is speaking now about green motions to bring trains on Merseyside back into public ownership. ‘We’re bringing back regulation for the buses and some ownership … but there will still be a strong role for the private sector’. He said it was important to keep track on value for money.
6.24pm - He is speaking about the business case for new stations and how long it’s taking for the one at the Baltic to get moving. ‘There needs to be far more done before the Labour party starts congratulating themselves’ he said.
6.24pm - He’s talking about tram and metro lines being built elsewhere. ‘Merseyrail is being left behind’ he says and talks about the need for further expansion.
6.22pm - We’re moving on to a debate with Cllr Shortall telling members they’re ‘running late’. Cllr Andrew Makinson is speaking of the issues of privatisation. ‘Labour didn’t lift a finger to reverse all that damage’. He said that it wasn’t Labour who actually set in motion the ability for buses to come back into public control. ‘We’re left congratulating ourselves for following Manchester’s footsteps’ he said.
‘if we’re serious’
6.18pm - Cllr Makinson is talking about dividends for Merseyrail. ‘£260m could have enhanced and expanded the public network if it had been kept in the public purse’ she says. Behind me in the public gallery, a gaggle of Lib Dems perhaps, with more applause.
6.16pm - Lib dem Cllr Liz Makinson is speaking now about the low level of Liverpool car ownership and the need to encourage more people to use sustainable travel. ‘Some parts of our city are well served’ she said, ‘however this is not a uniform situation’
6.15pm - ‘The height of their ambition is bendy buses’ and ‘a few metal fences at Sandhills’ says Cashman, saying the city has ‘suffered’ as a result. He said Liverpool ‘deserves the ambition to have trams’ and further. There is some applause from the public gallery.
6.15pm - Cashman is going through a list of issues ‘If that is leading the way lord mayor, I’d hate to see what falling behind looks like’. He said Burnham yesterday was honest but this motion isn’t.
‘Abject failure’
6.14pm - Carl Cashman starts talking about his amendment with a compliment to Cllr Shortall, who he says doesn’t look old enough to have an OAP bus pass. Cashman is talking about the benefit of Mersey Ferries, but also the ‘abject failure’ of privatisation. He said Liverpool is not leading the way on public transport. ‘Is it 20 hydrogen busses bought in 2021 that sat idle for four years?’ he asked.
6.12pm - He said he is proud the council and government is trying to get rid of the ‘bankrupt ideology’ from Thatcher due to privatisation.
6.11pm - Cllr Robinson is talking about protection of free travel for pensioners, disabled people and care leavers and about looking to deliver ‘further concessions for young people’
‘Over the moon’
6.10pm - Cllr Robinson said he was ‘over the moon’ to get up in the middle of the night to travel on the first re-regulated public bus.
The Greens broadly retain Labour’s motion but add stronger commitments on accessibility, active travel, scrutiny reporting and ultimately a fully integrated publicly owned transport network.
The Lib Dems want to add criticism of problems including the hydrogen-bus project, match-day transport, delays to Tap & Go and step-free access, and want work on integrated ticketing and a possible tram or rail network.
Labour leader Liam Robinson’s motion is essentially a celebration of the city region’s direction on public transport: bus franchising, the £2 fare, new trains, the return of Merseyrail to public ownership in 2028, active travel, the new ferry and plans for rapid transit. There are two amendments.
6.08pm - We’re on to discussion of the amendments now, Cllr Robinson said he would accept a Green amendment but not a Lib dem. He said the privatisation of public transport was a ‘deliberate attempt’ to ‘wreck our public transport networks’. He spokes of 40% of residents in Liverpool not having a car, and much higher rates of non-car ownership in areas like his ward in Kensington.
’A lot easier’?
6.06pm - ‘Hopefully things will get a lot easier’ said Cllr Shortall but added that he’s also ‘not hopeful’. Quick detour to appointments and committees before moving on to Cllr Robinson’s motion about public transport.
6.05pm - Cllr Bennett said code of conduct already includes conduct on social media. In terms of spurious complaints she said there are processes already. ‘This is just a protocol, it’s just guidance, it’s there to inform’. Cllr Shortall said he thought this item would be ‘easy but it’s turned out not to be’. There was a vote on Radford’s amendment, which was lost. The original motion has been voted on and carried.
6.04pm - ‘This is control by stealth’ Cllr Radford added. Cllr Shortall asked him to say in one sentence what the amendment was about - he has clarified now it’s to refer it back to the standards committee.
6.02pm - ‘No doubt there will be guidelines of how to clean yourself on the toilet next’ he added. He said he had been subject to a smear campaign previously but doesn’t think he shouldn’t challenge that person’s friends are (on social media). He describes it as ‘mischief’ and asks it to be referred to the standards committee.
‘Nanny state’
6.01pm - Cllr Steve Radford is talking about his concerns around the code of conduct and how people can be questioned for ‘sharing a post’ or responding to a comment. ‘There are some councillors in this chamber I wouldn’t dream of counting as a friend because of their past conduct’ he said, but doesn’t think he shouldn’t have to justify any to the city solicitor. ‘That is the implication of what you’re being asked to vote for’ he said, calling it a ‘nanny state’.
6.01pm - The council is also updating councillors’ rules on declaring interests and rewriting its social media protocol, including new guidance around AI, accuracy, privacy, defamation and other legal risks.
6pm - There are three sets of constitutional changes tonight. The most significant affects planning: new national regulations coming into force on 31 October mean some applications which councillors can currently determine will have to be decided by officers instead. Other applications will only reach Planning Committee if both the committee chair and the council’s planning director agree they raise sufficiently important issues.
5.59pm - One labour councillor got up and said they were concerned and Richard Kemp asked ‘what are you doing about them’. Cllr Robinson has jumped up now, talking about concerns over HMOs and said he has spoke to ministers about it. ‘I will keep speaking to ministers about it’ he said because he doesn’t want things to be made easier for HMOs.
A mandatory duty
5.57pm - We’re on to changes to the council’s constitution now. Cllr Kemp is asking a question. ‘We have a mandatory duty to change our constitution’ he said but asked whether Labour feels phone masts, HMOs and units of up to ten of accommodation ‘could cause concern’ for local residents and they should be consulted and have the right to present objections to a meeting of the planning committee, asking whether the Labour group had many any representations to the government about this ‘reduction in democratic process’.
5.55pm - Cllr Richard Kemp is speaking now and asking about legal assurances. Cllr Shortall moves now to the amendment and a vote on it. The amendment was carried. Now we’re on to the main vote - so this is the original recommendations as now amended. Hard to see from here who’s for or against, but in any case the vote has been carried.
5.51pm - ‘Let’s be honest here, what they’re selling is fake goods’ she said, talking of one off license with green mould and mice. She said the licensing committee is ‘doing a good job here’ and speaks about meetings with Business Improvement District (BID) and other agencies. ‘We’ve got nothing to hide but we need to stay within the law here’
5.50pm - ‘It’s okay saying about the Liverpool Plan, but that’s already in draft form at the moment’ She says we’re going against licensing law ‘and I’m against that’ saying this could lead to people appealing decisions. The biggest problem is off licenses, she added. ‘We’re revoking licenses left right and centre’ and there are many wanting 24 hours licences.
‘Not happy’
5.50pm - ‘Some of this we’re already doing’ she said, ‘but I’m not happy’ about further amendments. ‘You can’t do that without the licensing committee’ she says.
5.49pm - I dont think this council should be interfering’ he added before his time was called up. One more speaker now, Cllr Christine Banks who said she agrees.
5.47pm - He said there was a previous problem of forcing everyone out at the same time and causing disorder on the streets, which is why in 2003 licensing rules were changed. He said predetermined hours shouldn’t be imposed ‘without considering the merits of the application.’ He said this is backed up by case law.
5.45pm - There are two members to speak on this one. Lib Dem Cllr Kelly - ‘if anyone wants to damage the hospitality industry and nighttime economy in this city … this is the way to do it’ he said.
5.44pm - ‘We need to make sure that the Local plan and licensing statement work together’ so the amendment calls for consultation with stakeholders and the issue of late night bars in residential areas. The amendment has been seconded.
5.42pm - We’re on to licensing now. Councillors are being asked to approve Liverpool’s licensing policy for the next five years following a public consultation. Changes include stronger references to spiking and schemes such as Ask for Angela, illegal tobacco and vapes, online alcohol sales and cumulative impact assessments. One of the most significant is a framework under which newly licensed off-licences would normally be expected to stop selling alcohol at midnight. Cllr Robinson is bringing forward an amendment.
Licensing changes
5.42pm - Cllr Portia Fahey is talking about a petition for residents of Everton North, with a request from a 15 year old, Jack, for the ‘installation of drop kerbs to improve safe access for wheelchair users’.
5.40pm - Moving speedily on now to petitions - there are two of them. One by Cllr Rasmussen, whose petition is from the residents in Speke requesting highway improvements. Cllr Gibbons also has a petition, this one is from residents about a long derelict shop and asking for permission for a development.
5.39pm - Cllr Robinson said he set the money aside to use that and is ‘pleased the government has now announced we can go further’ and speaks of frustration around the process of compulsory purchasing, saying he’s been speaking to ministers about greater powers.
5.38pm - Cllr Billy Lake is speaking now. He’s talking about £5.5m to support the purchase of empty properties. He’s talking about vacant properties in Tuebrook with 48 vacant for months and some ‘derelict for decades’ which he describes as ‘nothing short of criminal’. The properties are ‘rotting away’ he added, and the council needs to ‘take action’. This was followed by applause from the public gallery.
‘I work a lot more than 9 to 5’
5.27pm - Cllr Westhead is talking about work in libraries, Dolly Parton and help to get children reading. ‘Do you appreciate the importance of getting children reading’ and an ask for Cllr Robinson’s favourite Dolly Parton Song. ‘I work a lot more than 9 to 5’ he said and is now speaking of the importance of reading for children.
5.35pm - Cllr Crone is now talking about cross pavement charging channels and a response he’s received to a question. ‘As an electric car user myself its something we want to promote for all residents’. Cllr Robinson said ‘its frustrating’ about a requirement to get planning permission’ that’s held that up’. He said there has now been a change of regulations to help residents without off street parking ‘to have the confidence to be able to purchase an EV and charge it up from home.’
5.34pm - Cllr Cashman has asked a second question about libraries and how the council supports them. ‘We cherish our library sector’ said Cllr Robinson, and would work with community groups to get best use. He’s now speaking of the visit to Spellow Hub by Queen Camilla.
5.33pm - Cllr Cashman is speaking now, ‘what residents have also raised with me is concerns about the quality of the roadworks recently, what is the leader doing to ensure the contracts are delivering high quality services’ he asked. Cllr Robinson said the council was working closely on that and spoke of a report about a ‘London-style lane rental scheme’ that he plans for Liverpool with a report due soon.
‘Do you agree the law is an ass?’
5.32pm - Cllr Gibbons is asking a question, asking the leader ‘do you agree the law is an ass?’ he asked, calling for a change in the law to halt shoddy work. ‘Yes I do’ said Liam, talking about the battle against HMOs.
5.31pm - Cllr Robinson is now talking about plans to roll out further school streets and how Liverpool was one of the first cities in the country to roll out 20mph zones in residential areas.
5.30pm - ‘It is something this administration, this council is very much dedicated to’ said Cllr Liam Robinson.
5.29pm - ‘Many of these deaths and injuries are preventable’ he added, and calls on party leaders to include the Ten Asks in their manifestos and calling on the Police to help tackle dangerous drivers. ‘Please, slow down for Bobby’ Shaun concluded, followed by a standing ovation across the chamber.
5.28pm - Shaun is speaking about the move on the Wirral to reduce speed limits to 20mph and how it resulted in a 23% reduction in deaths and serious injuries. ‘If we’re serious about making Liverpool a place where children can safely walk and cycle to school’ we need to make the decision. He speaks of a ‘flurry of complaints’ from drivers but the importance of taking moves to make the roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
5.27pm - Shaun is reading out a statement now from Joanne Colleran. Her son, Bobby, is not a ‘statistic or data’, he repeats. ‘We take time to educate children and families and now it’s time for Liverpool’ he reads out ‘so no other families have to experience this heartbreak’.
5.26pm - He’s talking about the dangers of being a pedestrian in Liverpool, with 248 people killed or injured on roads across Liverpool in one year. Shaun is speaking of a motion in April that received cross party support to back the Better Street’s Ten Ask campaign. He also speaks of accidents that have recently happened on the roads.
5.25pm - Shaun Herr from Better Streets for Liverpool is up now speaking on the city’s road safety emergency.
Road safety emergency
5.25pm - The speaker is called Brenda and Cllr Robinson is thanking her for her speech now and said he is ‘very pleased to keep supporting this campaign because I share all of your concerns’.
5.24pm - The speakers is talking of a ‘safety risk’, adding ‘we should all be concerned about our data’. How would each of us feel if someone who isn’t our doctor and we haven’t given permission for can access our health records? She urged councillors to support a motion coming up later by Cllr Natalie Nicholas.
5.23pm - She’s talking about the difference between data processor and controller and says Palantir employees do have access to identifiable data, ‘a fact for which NHS England has apologised’.
5.22pm - She’s talking about Peter Thiel now, behind Palantir, speaking of a quote by him that the NHS ‘makes people sick’. She said many have been ‘asking questions about the security of our data in the hands of Palantir’.
5.21pm - There is a public speaker talking about Palantir now. ‘Our NHS data is an incredible resource’ she said. We haven’t got her name, but we’ll add in when we do.
Palantir
5.20pm - Liam Robinson is responding now saying he doesn’t agree with it and it isn’t accurate followed by someone shouting out. He said the administration is ‘completely focusing on best value’. Cllr Shortall has called for ‘decorum’ following a bit of shouting from the chamber.
5.20pm - ‘People should be entitled to ask questions’ he said, a speech followed by applause from the public gallery.
5.19pm - Kevin is now talking about concerns over transparency and scrutiny. ‘Show us the valuations’ he said.
5.17pm - Kevin Robinson Hale, Lib dem campaigner, is speaking on Foundation Homes, asking ‘where is the accountability?’. He’s talking about land in Everton transferred to a developer for £1 and then later bought back by the council for £650k. ‘What benefit did the people of Everton receive from this?’ he asked. He’s also referring to land given to developers across the city, ‘were residents properly consulted and where does the evidence show these… delivered value?’.’These aren’t abstract numbers, this is community land’ he added.
‘Nice to Labour’
5.17pm - Leader of the opposition, Cllr Carl Cashman is speaking now, with an ask for Liverpool to keep all or a ‘substantial part’ of the visitor levy money. On Burnham, he said ‘I’m going to be nice to Labour on this because I watched the prime minister’s speech yesterday because I was touched and moved and agreed with pretty much everything that he had to say, particularly on social care.’
5.15pm - He’s giving an update on some of the announcements from Prime Minister Burnham, including VAT coming off energy bills from tomorrow. He also teased an announcement tomorrow about a conference and event coming to Liverpool.
5.15pm - Cllr Robinson said he’s been ‘over the moon’ going on the first re-regulated bus in over 30 years.
‘Delighted’
5.13pm - Next up we’re onto the leaders announcement and Cllr Liam Robinson is speaking about some of the engagements he’s been involved with. He said he’s ‘delighted’ the government has announced an overnight visitor levy, ‘something this council has long campaigned for’.
5.12pm - On to the chief exec Andrew Lewis and news that the next full council will be a themed meeting on children’s social care.
5.11pm - Cllr Shortall has been running through military related events he’s been to recently, including for Merchant Navy Day.
5.10pm - ‘It’s amazing what goes on in our city’ Cllr Shortall said, working through the long list of things he’s been up to as Lord Mayor since the last full council.
5.09pm - We’re onto the royalty now and various members of the royal family who have visited Liverpool. He said these visits ‘showcase Liverpool on the national stage’.
5.08pm - He’s now talking about Ukraine Independence Day, which he recently attended in Liverpool and described as a ‘very moving service’. He was also visiting the Rainbow Toffees recently and the ‘Minton Reveal’ in St George’s Hall, which is only revealed every once in five years.
5.07pm - Cllr Shortall is speaking of a bus stop inside the Royal Society of the Blind School where there is a mock road and bus stop to help students learn how to navigate public transport.
“Fantastic’
5.06pm - Cllr Shortall has just signed the last minutes and is now on to Mayoral announcements. He saying how ‘fantastic’ it is to be Lord Mayor.
5.05pm - Noone’s declaring any interests. Operation Aloft is getting a mention now. Councillors are being reminded of reporting restrictions and the risk of contempt of court.
5.04pm - Cllr Paul Brant, Wendy Simon and Mina Juarez have sent their apologies. A few others are being shouted out too from the chamber.
5pm - And we’re off. Tonight’s meeting is chaired by the Lord Mayor, Cllr William Shortall, who’s going through a bit of housekeeping now.
4.58pm - A man with a big gold staff awaits near the entrance to the chamber, which surely means the meeting’s about to start.
4.52pm - We made it inside! There’s always a slight palaver getting into these full council meetings In Liverpool. Lots of security at the door, an escort into the chamber - but we made it in good time today so thankfully no drama.
4.47pm - A group of Lib dems are also gathered outside. Collective term for them? ‘A gathering of honest people’ was one answer. A ‘gaggle’ another.
4.43pm - Shaun is going to be delivering a speech on Better Streets for Liverpool, which will include a statement from Joanne Colleran from the Bobby Colleran Trust.
4.38pm - One of the items to be discussed tonight is about significant changes to planning rules, coming in to effect from October 31st.
4.29pm - Liverpool Greens have put forward a motion tonight, which has received cross party support, for the city to declare a road safety emergency. you can read more about that here: https://www.merseymonitor.com/time-for-deeds-not-words-over-ciroad-safety-emergency/
4.23pm -We asked Tom Crone, leader of Liverpool Greens, down here to raise awareness of road safety, what term we should use. An ‘allotment’ of Greens was his response.
4.21pm - Is there a collective term for a gathering of Greens? Green councillors and road safety campaigners are gathering either way opposite the town hall.
4.19pm - Lovely afternoon down on Castle Street today, all quiet outside the town hall right now.
First time visiting the Mersey Monitor? Welcome! We’re an independent public interest news site covering Merseyside on a not-for-profit basis. Everything we publish is free to read, with no paywalls, and we’re funded by reader donations. You can sign up to receive our emails (they’re totally free) at the bottom of this page.
