Halton gives its support to new Mayor
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HALTON voters helped Labour candidate Steve Rotheram to achieve a landslide victory in the first-ever Liverpool City Region (LCR) metro mayor elections.
Mr Rotheram won 60.65% of the borough’s eligible votes, earning 11,636 from 19,187 eligible votes.
There were 305 rejected ballots in Halton.
The metro mayor said he will not be standing in the General Election in June for his former constituency of Walton, for which he had been the serving MP until Parliament was dissolved for the snap election.
His campaign’s motto was ‘no borough left behind’ and his manifesto covered policies including turning the LCR into ‘Britain’s energy coast’ with a large tidal power project, a pledge to create degree-level apprenticeships and ‘reregulating’ bus services so they run on electricity or hydrogen from 2020 to cut carbon emissions and pollution.
Mr Rotheram also wants to create a green energy investment fund and rejuvenate the property market with a ‘housing challenge’ competition to find the most innovative ideas.
He ran the highest-visibility campaign in Halton, with leaflet drops and visits to the Mersey Gateway and Alstom sites.
The former bricklayer won overall across the LCR with 59.30% of the vote.
Tony Caldeira, Conservative, claimed second place with 20.37%, while Lib Dem candidate Carl Cashman and Green contender Tom Crone took third and fourth place respectively on 4.88% and 4.14%.
Paula Walter, UK Independence Party (Ukip), was fifth on 4.14%, followed by the Trade Union And Socialist Coalition’s Roger Bannister with 2.73%.
Seventh and eighth places were taken by Tabitha Morton, Womens Equality Party, 1.49%, and the enigmatic Paul Breen, Get The Coppers Off The Jury, 0.25%.
In Halton the league table was similar, but with Paula Walters finishing higher, in third place, on 6.21%, after running on an anti-tolls ticket.
Turnout in the borough was the lowest from among the six LCR districts on 20.5%.
Overall turnout across the city region was 26.1%, the highest in Liverpool city on 28.6%.
Having a directly elected city region mayor was one of the condition’s of the Government’s devolution deal to give whoever won responsibility over £900m over 30 years to spend on major strategic projects.
Readers have expressed scepticism about the value of having a metro mayor and being part of the LCR on social media, but Halton Borough Council leader Cllr Rob Polhill said the combined authority deal is already bringing investment and jobs to the borough with Liverpool Growth Fund cash for the Alstom rail technology centre and Silver Jubilee Bridge (SJB) works.
He said Halton retain its identity under the ‘partnership’ between Halton, Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, Wirral and St Helens, adding that it is ‘early days’ for what the metro mayor will mean.
Cllr Polhill said: “We’ve been looking at this for quite a while.
“We’ve always been in partnership with Merseyside, the devolution deal made it official and we’re part of the combined authority.
“What it means for us as an authority is we get a part and have access, along with the other five districts, to £30m a year for the next 30 years and we can bid in for projects and provide jobs for Halton people.”
Asked whether the Government is delegating austerity amid swingeing council budget cuts, Cllr Polhill said: “There’s a bit of that.
“They’re relinquishing their responsibility as a Government to look after the poorest people in society.
“There’s a big gap between the North and the South and they’re not addressing that gap at all. “It’s (£30m a year) chicken feed. “It’s called a growth fund and allows us to help businesses to come here.
“We’ve had money for Alstom to move here and money for the SJB.”
He added: “I can assure you that Halton will not lose its identity, we’re still in charge.
“We’re part of a partnership and we can veto many of the things that come up that we don’t like.
“This is very much about local politics, we’re saying we’re very much about what happens here –people in London don’t care what happens in the likes of Halton.
“This is about local accountability and I hope Halton people see that.”
David Parr, Halton Borough Council chief executive and election returning officer, said there were 305 rejected ballots in Halton.
He said 19.492 residents subjected ballots from a total potential electorate of 95,185. ● Full results for Halton were:
Steve Rotheram, Labour, 11,636, votes, 20.64%.
Tony Caldeira, Conservatives, 3,928, 20.47%.
Paula Walters, Ukip, 1,191, 6.21%.
Carl Cashman, Liberal Democrats, 943, 4.91%. Tom Crone, Green, 677, 3.53%. Roger Bannister, Tusc, 503, ● 2.61%.
Tabitha Morton, Womens Equality Party, 245, 1.28%.
Paul Breen, Get The Coppers Off The Jury, 64, 0.33%.