The local elections are just a couple of weeks away and in Liverpool everything is on the line.
The city's elections could be the most significant, chaotic and unpredictable in decades as a raft of reforms arrive at a time when government commissioners still loom large over the Cunard building. The city's electoral map is being completely redrawn.
Where it was previously made up of 30 wards, with three councillors in each ward, there will soon be 64 wards made up of mainly much smaller city wards that will be represented by just one councillor. The rise in smaller, single-member wards at this election is significant. It means that smaller parties and independent councillors will have a greater chance of upsetting the odds and beating some of the larger parties to seats.
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This, perhaps, explains why there is a big focus on independents at this year's elections. One group, the Liverpool Community Independents, was formed by resigning Labour councillors last year and will be hoping to take votes off the ruling group this time around.
There is another group that has formed recently in the city called Liberate Liverpool. Describing itself as a political movement, Liberate is not registered as a party but says that 30 independent candidates standing on May 4 come under its umbrella. The candidates are all standing on a pledge to 'Liberate Liverpool from fraud and corruption' following recent council scandals.
Liberate says it is "campaigning against the fraud and corruption ingrained into the party political system of the country, starting from the bottom up".
The movement is being fronted by Lawrence Kenwright, a hotelier and property developer best known for running the Signature Living group. Mr Kenwright is not standing in this year's elections but has hosted a number of meetings for potential candidates and supporters.
In a statement he said: "In three short months we’ve been overwhelmed with the support, spurred on by the cries of hope in our communities. We had more than 60 people come forward from across Liverpool, wishing to represent their ward and to fly the flag of anti-fraud and anti-corruption under our banner.
"However our rigorous selection process meant not all were successful. We are proud of our candidates and the work they have done so far, and we are confident that they will represent the people of Liverpool with honesty and integrity.”
But questions and concerns have been raised by some groups and individuals regarding comments made by some of the candidates standing under the Liberate banner.
Last week the group released a statement to say it had withdrawn support for one of its candidates after they were found to have made "unacceptable comments not in line with our values" The statement added: "Liberate Liverpool is a movement that stands for inclusivity, tolerance and respect for all individuals regardless of their background, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual orientation."
But while one candidate has seen Liberate's support withdrawn, other groups have raised concerns regarding social media comments made by other candidates.
On twitter, the LGBT+ Socialists group shared screengrabs of social media posts that appear to have been made by Barry Maguire who is standing under the Liberate banner in the Fazakerley ward. One post from July 2022 discussing trans issues said: "For all the men who decided to roll over instead of standing up to tyranny. We have a get out of jail free card for you. Time to go trans. Enjoy your periods."
Another post from Mr Maguire appeared to described the NHS as the Nazi Health Service with an image of a swastika made up of vaccine needles. The post adds: "Refusing sick people much needed treatments because they don't take a fraudulent test to prove they haven't got the phoney coroney." Another post talked about the "fake climate crisis".
The LGBT+ Socialist group asked if Liberate Liverpool stands by the comments and the ECHO raised the same questions with the group.
Responding, a spokersperson for the group said: "Regarding concerns raised about our candidates' views on trans issues, covid, or climate, we believe in open and honest discussion and encourage our candidates to engage in constructive dialogue with members of their communities.
"We also recognize that people hold a variety of opinions on these issues, and we respect everyone's right to express their views. (However, we expect all of our candidates to uphold our party's values of equality, inclusivity, and respect for all individuals, regardless of their background, identity, or beliefs)."
Another candidate standing under the Liberate umbrella is current Wavertree Councillor David Cummings who will stand in the new Smithdown ward as an independent.
Cllr Cummings was expelled from the Labour Party last year, having been suspended back in 2019, following a string of complaints. He received two criminal convictions during his time as an elected member, firstly for criminal damage and secondly for threatening behaviour after swearing at a 14-year-old girl.
Responding to questions about Cllr Cummings, a Liberate spokesperson said he had expressed remorse for his past actions and "taken steps to address his behaviour". The spokesperson added: "We believe that it is not fair to single out one candidate for their past mistakes when other Liverpool politicians have also had far more serious brushes with the law." Liberate also suggested the media coverage of Cllr Cummings has been "excessive".
The spokesperson added: "It is important to consider the mental health impact of such coverage which can be damaging to an individual's well-being and in this case it was with the impacts of such still felt today."
They added: "We are committed to supporting our candidates and ensuring that they are able to serve their communities to the best of their ability. We believe that Mr. Cummings has the skills and experience necessary to make a positive difference in his community, and we stand by him as a candidate."
The statement also referred to previous stories about Labour candidates Sarah Doyle, Paul Brant and Christine Banks - all reported by the ECHO - as well as our exclusive investigation that uncovered a parking ticket scandal at the city council.
The full list of Liverpool City Council election candidates can be found here.
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