Levelling Up Secretary Greg Clark has announced an effective takeover of all financial, governance and recruitment powers of the Labour-run Liverpool City Council, after a new report revealed yet more “serious shortcomings” in the council’s money management and leadership. The Council’s already been under special measures since March 2021, when Robert Jenrick appointed four commissioners to control regeneration, highways, and housing. The hope was they’d stick around for three years to rebuild the council after its “breakdown“. It turns out the situation is so bad they now need a fifth commissioner to handle finances…
Clark also revealed in a letter to local councillors that Steve Rotheram, Liverpool’s Metro Mayor, will chair an “advisory panel” to “plan for Liverpool’s revival“:
“I am determined to help do everything I can to help Liverpool come out of the current intervention stronger and able to achieve its ambitions. The commissioners’ report shows that there are still serious shortcomings that need to be sorted out, especially in financial management […] So following talks I had in person in Liverpool with Mayor Joanne Anderson and Mayor Steve Rotheram in recent weeks, I am appointing a new panel, chaired by that same Mayor Rotheram and supported by some of the wisest, and most experienced people in city leadership, to lead this transition from current interventions to a successful future.”
The biggest Whitehall takeover of local government in history…
It is expected that today Boris will announce an end to compulsory face masks from July 19th. However, not everyone is happy to see face coverings go; Labour mayors Sadiq Khan, Andy Burnham, Dan Norris and Steve Rotheram all seem reluctant to bin the masks. As such it’s unclear whether masks will continue to be mandated on public transport – which is under the remit of mayors. If Khan had his way, Guido suspects that no one would be boarding the freedom train any time soon…
Unite the union are also calling on ministers to keep face masks mandatory on public transport, writing that optional face coverings would be “an act of gross negligence by the government”.
Boris is expected to advocate people exercise their own judgement. However, Huw Merriman, Tory Chairman of the Commons Transport Committee has slammed the government’s “confusing” policy arguing that scrapping mask laws whilst simultaneously recommending they be worn is a “cop out.” He says guidance should be scrapped in its entirety…
Guido couldn’t noticing David Schneider also weigh in on the great mask-debate. Hardly surprising to hear he enjoys restrictions…
As predicted, Scouse foghorn and Corbyn PPS Steve Rotheram has won Labour’s nomination for Liverpool mayor. Once again the woman, Luciana Berger, finished last. Which means all of Labour’s mayoral candidates across the country have something in common:
London: Sadiq Khan
Bristol: Marvin Rees
Manchester: Andy Burnham
West Midlands: Sion Simon
Liverpool: Steve Rotheram
Add that to the party’s all male leader, deputy leader and shadow chancellor, and all male leadership election. Cue a brocialist backlash:
Where have all the Labour women gone?
Over £1 million of taxpayers’ money has been diverted to offshore property companies through the MPs’ expenses system. In 2012-13, 13 MPs were paying rent expenses for properties in the luxury riverside Dolphin Square complex, made famous as the home of coke-snorting Lords (and worse).
Records show MPs including top Corbyn allies Steve Rotheram, Nic Dakin and Shabana Mahmood paid the expenses cash to subsidiaries of Westbrook Dolphin Square Ltd. This is a network of 612 companies which own two flats each in Dolphin Square. All 612 companies are registered in Jersey…
Tory MP Jonathan Evans meanwhile paid rent expenses to Abal Establishment, a property company with offices in London but which is registered in the tax haven of Lichtenstein:
Overall in 2012-13 MPs sent over £230,000 of taxpayer cash to tax-avoiding offshore property companies. Extrapolating these figures means over the course of the last parliament well over £1 million of your money was sent offshore so MPs could live it up in London…
