It has been half a century since the Conservative Party last controlled the city of Liverpool. Having previously been a stronghold for the Tories in early parts of the 20th century, the last 50 years marked a decline in support for the party, with Margaret Thatcher and her government in the 1980s acting as a lightning rod for dissent.
Such is the volte face in approach towards the Conservative Party in Liverpool, one man said earlier this year that he felt more daunted at expressing his desire to vote Tory than be open with his sexuality. It’s worth remembering Merseyside does have one single Conservative MP - Damien Moore in Southport - and the party has made significant gains in Wirral during this month’s elections.
However, the last Tory member to sit on the red benches at Liverpool Town Hall was given the boot in 1998 and later defected to Labour, as the city has moved between Labour and Liberal Democrat administrations. Since 2010, the Conservatives, initially propped up by the Lib Dems and then as a government of their own, have run the country and have been met with hostility throughout Liverpool.
