Local Government in the UK – Liverpool

Mr President …

Thank you for the invitation to be here today. It is my first visit to Africa and Cape Town is quite an introduction to the continent.

As I was having breakfast this morning, my eye was drawn to the television in the restaurant, which was showing Liverpool v Wigan! My own local team, on television in South Africa – a global village indeed!

Then something else struck me. For here was a team with a couple of local lads, but which also had players from across the EU – Torres and Kuyt to name but two. Then I realised – here was a local team, with players drawn from many lands, but all with a single aim – for the team to win. If the team wins, the club wins, if the club wins, the fans keep coming to matches and the club prospers. If the club is failing, players, fans and investment go elsewhere. The club will struggle and may well go into a downward spiral from which it is difficult to recover.

What on earth has this to do with LI and Liberal government, much less the EU?

I’d like to answer that by taking you on a journey. A journey that begins just after WW2.

My city, Liverpool, had lost tens of thousands of homes and businesses during the war and thousands of people were killed or injured. In 1949, the city Special Assistance area status by the then government. Cash came in over the years to build new homes – often in the suburbs, and new towns were created to which, it was hoped, new jobs would flow.

For a short time, that seemed to be succeeding, but by the 1980s, following Mrs Thatcher’s restructuring of the economy, unemployment rocketed. In some areas of the city, male unemployment stood at 67 per cent. Some of those families have had no one at work since then.

The docks, which used to employ 40000 workers, ended up with 3500 as containerisation took hold.

Factories and manufacturers such as Tate and Lyle, closed.

Then, in 1983, the city elected Labour to power, a Labour Party that was, in effect, a Trotskyite regime.

In the following decade, Liverpool lost 22pc of our population and 18pc of our jobs.

The only bright spots on the horizon were the Beatles and football. In 1989 Paul McCartney created LIPA and our teams Liverpool and Everton were often the only good news stroies in a decade of despair.

In the 19 th century, Liverpool had been booming. Trade, cotton, migration fuelled the city’s growth and population. Our port carried 5/6 of Europe’s emigrants to the New Worlds of America, Africa and Australasia. Britain’s factories produced goods that sold across the world and imports of gold, cotton, tea, sugar and oil came through the port.

Now, loss of jobs, an administration bent on open warfare with government and with our neighbouring municipalities and the croneyism, corruption and central control created by Labour brought the city to the brink of bankruptcy.

Poverty levels in the city meant that in 1994, the European Union declared Liverpool and its 4 neighbouring municipalities to have Objective 1status.

Objective 1 status put the city on a par with the poorest regions of Europe, but it also gave us the opportunity and money to move our economy forward.

In the first instance some 837m euro was made available to us. But, squabbles, indecision and a lack of experience in partnership working led to a poorer result for expenditure that should have happened and a second tranche of cash was made available in 2000.

This was some 1.3bn euro and, came just two years after Lib Dems took control of the city.

Having seen the disaster of Labour years, the chasing away of jobs and businesses, the destruction of the city’s reputation and the dash to the suburbs of our professional people, we took control of the city with a really difficult task to perform: to give the city back its future.

We decided on three areas that would begin the process of change:

Investing in the education of our young people;

Becoming a business friendly city;

Rebuilding the city’s reputation.

So, how did we set about this task?

As Liberals we knew how Labour had squandered cash intended for schools on other things. We put the money where it needed to go.

The result? In 1998, when we took control, only 35pc of our young people achieved the standard of 5 GCSEs at Grades A to C half of the national average. This year, after 12 years of Liberal Democrat control, that figure is 83pc, now significantly higher than the national average.

Colleagues have spoken of the need for dialogue with citizens. We begin that early, with a Schools Parliament that is made up of children elected by their peers. The lower house aged up to 11; the upper house to 18. And yes, they have the right both to question the administration and to propose motions direct to the Council.

In addition, through our European funding mechanism, we have trained over 300k people for work and to enhance skills for those in work.

We wanted to rebuild the city’s contact with and support for business. Under Labour, the private sector had been a no go area; the big bad capitalists were seen as being hand in glove with the Tory government.

If we were to grow the city’s economy that had to change. The city helped create an urban development company that would help business to grow and to establish in the cityu. We met with business regularly and were offered seats on the council of the chamber of commerce. Working with business grew the confidence of business in the city. Better services for business followed: help through the planning system; grants to help establish companies or grow existing companies; establishment of a business arm for the city to help budding entrepreneurs – and an international dimension to our drive for new business all helped to change the view the private sector had of the city government.

However, without doubt the most difficult task was to change the image and reputation of the city. Here was a real need for change.

So the vision and clear leadership achieved the following:

120m of waste and bureaucracy taken out of the city’s budget meant we restricted rises in council tax for residents to an average of 1pc a year for 12 years. This took us from the highest council tax and worst services in the country to number 83 and officially a three star council this last year.

Used EU funding to regenerate the economy by improving old and building new infrastructure, creating jobs and new businesses in the doing.

We bid for World Heritage Status and got it.

We bid to be European Capital of Culture and succeeded. We spent some 110m over 5 years to be a Cultural Capital that would be remembered – and created jobs and new social enterprises into the bargain;

We opened a School for social entrepreneurs and to date have had more than 110 graduates who are now running businesses in disadvantaged areas;

We are in building the world’s first international centre for women’s economic development, which is a 6m euro project, run by a social enterprise, which is attracting attention from across the world – just partnered with Shanghai;

Fostered micro enterprise for women in the city something which we did in Sri Lanka after the tsunami;

Attracted inward investment. A new retail development wholly privately funded, with the city as partner and landowner has taken our retail offer from 15th nationally to 5th.

Our tourist visitors have leapt to 6m a year; only beaten by London and Edinburgh;

Our airport has grown from 6 destinations to 65 this year and from fewer than half a million passengers to 6m; KLM now offers access to world wide destinations too.

Recycling rates have grown from less than 2pc to more than 30.

EU funding matched with Lib Dem philosophy has given our city a new lease of life. Now, through the CoR, we are able to influence EU policy directly
– particularly important given the current financial situation and the climate change agenda.

Mentioned Sri Lanka earlier,  funds raised have helped create 1000 women owned businesses and the CoR having heard of a number of cities that are engaged in the international sphere is holding a conference next year – the second in an annual series – to bring together sponsors and regions/cities in the developing world, European LRas and the Commission to see how we can work together.