Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has announced his new Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (CA) cabinet - and addressed the lack of female representation.
Following the local elections held across the region last month, changes have been made to the line-up of the team heading up the CA for the next year and the seven-strong membership is made up exclusively of men. In the aftermath of May’s elections, despite increasing Labour’s numbers on Wirral Council, former leader Cllr Janette Williamson was deposed by her deputy Paul Stuart.
He now replaces her on the authority executive, taking up the role of portfolio holder for digital and innovation. The region’s other female leader, Joanne Anderson, stepped down as Mayor of Liverpool in May as the city did away with the position.
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The new leader of Liverpool Council, Cllr Liam Robinson, returns to the combined authority - this time as a voting member - and will take the role of transport portfolio holder, having chaired the Merseytravel committee previously. Each member of the cabinet will have a female deputy.
Cllr David Baines, leader of St Helens Council, will replace Cllr Williamson as deputy Metro Mayor. Emily Spurrell, Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner, is a co-opted, non-voting member responsible for criminal justice.
Under its constitution, agreed by government before the election of the first metro mayor, the CA is made up of the elected leaders of its six constituent local authorities and chaired by Mr Rotheram. He has no say over the appointment of leaders to the respective councils.
Announcing the cabinet, which will be confirmed when the CA holds its annual general meeting next week, Mr Rotheram said: “We have an important year ahead of us as we enter into the final months of this mayoral term ahead of next May’s elections. To ensure that the combined authority continues working to deliver my manifesto, I have tweaked portfolios so that we can continue to focus on emerging priorities.
“I want to make our region the fairest, strongest and greenest in the country, take greater control of our transport system, help to lead the green industrial revolution and give local young people the opportunities they deserve to get on in life."
Paying tribute to the outgoing former Mayor and Cllr Williamson, Mr Rotheram said the decrease in female representation hadn’t gone unnoticed. He said: “I want to thank Jo and Jan for their hard work and contributions in helping to deliver my vision for a region with no one left behind.
“As the first women leaders to sit on the combined authority, they were trailblazers and I am grateful to them for their service to our city region, as well as the areas they served. It will not have escaped anybody’s notice that this means the Combined Authority is now in a position where all of its leaders are middle aged, white and male.
“Each leader will have a nominated woman deputy to help address this imbalance, but in the longer term, I am looking to commission a piece of work that will seek to address representation in politics across the city region and ensure that we do more to deliver diversity at all levels that better reflect the communities we represent.”
The cabinet in full:
Policy, Reform and Resources - Mayor Steve Rotheram
Employment, Education and Skills - Councillor Ian Maher
Digital and Innovation - Councillor Paul Stuart
Housing and Spatial Planning - Councillor Graham Morgan
Net Zero and Air Quality - Councillor David Baines
Economic Development and Business - Councillor Mike Wharton
Transport - Councillor Liam Robinson
Criminal Justice - Emily Spurrell
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