Liverpool's Labour group appears to once again be at war over an energy contract 'catastrophe' that will cost the city £16 million.
The arguments are now sparking calls for the resignations of key figures. A tempestuous group meeting last night, described by one councillor as 'horrendous', saw some Labour members call for cabinet figures to resign their positions after it was revealed that a series of calamitous council mistakes will see the local authority's energy bills soar by £5 million and hit city schools with millions more in costs.
On Friday, the ECHO revealed a shocking litany of mistakes, including how council officers failed to inform the mayor or cabinet members that the energy supplier it was agreeing to extend its contract with, Scottish Power, had stopped supplying commercial customers. As a result, no contingency plans were made and the council was automatically placed onto a far more expensive deal.
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The errors means the council's electricity costs could rise from £8.5m to £13m. The total extra energy cost to the city - which includes schools and the fire service - could soar from £10.6m to £26m. Opposition leaders have warned the mistakes will have a 'devastating impact' on a council that has recently approved a £20m package of budget cuts.
At last night's fractious Labour group meeting, which was closed to the public, backbench councillors turned their anger on the cabinet and in particular Deputy Mayor and finance chief Jane Corbett, with some calling for the long-serving councillor to step down over the saga. Another councillor publicly called on the entire cabinet to consider their positions.
While the damning cabinet report makes clear the costly mistakes over the council's energy contract came from officers, group members pointed out how the report stated that as the cabinet member for finances, Cllr Corbett was informed of the situation on March 23. This was weeks before the damning report of May 6 when the explosive mistakes were revealed. Some cabinet members seemed to be unaware of the full extent of the disaster before that point.
One councillor present at last night's meeting said: "People are really angry about this, it is a massive f*** up that has been compounded by poor communication.' One member suggested the whole recent budget process, which saw a controversial £20m packaged of cuts agreed, including an unpopular new green bin charge and money pumped into the council's resources, 'was built on a lie.' The ECHO understands that one former cabinet member publicly called for the whole cabinet to consider their positions at the meeting.
A Labour source, present at the meeting, said: "I think Keir Starmer, in his actions yesterday, set a very good example for cabinet members and senior officers in Liverpool."
But others were unhappy with the level of vitriol aimed at the current cabinet, some of whom were visibly upset, with the criticisms mainly coming from members of the previous cabinet. One councillor at the meeting described it as 'horrendous', and 'the worst meeting I've been too.' And there were suggestions that some members were on 'manoeuvres' ahead of expected leadership challenges next year.
The fiery meeting is perhaps something of a taster of the battles to come within Liverpool's notoriously divided Labour group. While there is understandable anger at the litany of errors that have led to the ballooning energy bill, the saga will perhaps be seen as a first battle line for what could be some explosive internal future fights for power.
Joining in the calls for resignations over the energy debacle today were ex-Labour councillors who split to form the new Liverpool Community Independents group earlier this year. That split came in response to the controversial budget plans set out by the current cabinet.
One of the Labour splitters, Cllr Alison Clarke said: “In the aftermath of a £24 million budget cut that included a £40 Bin charge to every household with a garden and the resignations of 8 Cllrs who offered an alternative budget. Now we have witnessed a £16 million mismanagement which will cost the people of Liverpool. The leaders responsible should take responsibility and resign.”
Independent group leader, former Labour Councillor Anna Rothery called on both Cllr Corbett and council chief executive Tony Reeves to consider their positions in the wake of the calamity.
She said: "It is not good enough for senior officers and Cabinet members to express shock that they did not know. It is their job to know. In such circumstances people usually consider their positions. This was an avoidable disaster and leading officers and elected members need to take full responsibility. That means the chief executive and cabinet member responsible considering their positions.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Liverpool Labour group said: "As a general rule, we don’t discuss what is said at Labour Group meetings, but I can confirm that the city’s energy bill was one of the topics discussed last night. The Mayor, Cabinet and Labour Group are all extremely angry and disappointed at what has happened, and this is an issue we are taking very seriously. Following Friday’s Cabinet Report the mayor has commissioned an independent investigation and when we have the conclusions the whole Labour Group is fully united in wanting to ensure accountability for what has happened."
In a new statement today, Mayor Joanne Anderson said: "Following the serious failure to secure an electricity contract with Scottish Power, as reported at our cabinet meeting last Friday, I have ordered a full investigation into what went wrong at every level.
"This investigation will be conducted by independent and external auditors, not by council officers. I want to make it clear to the city that I am seeking full accountability for this costly error and appropriate action will be taken once the full facts are established."
