AMBITIOUS plans for a “Greater Liverpool” mayor and elected authority to prevent faceless quangos “squandering” millions were set out by a departing MP.

Peter Kilfoyle predicted his 166-page prospectus to transform decision-making would cause “mayhem” by demolishing the case for putting funding through the likes of Liverpool Vision and The Mersey Partnership.

The 63-year-old, who ceased to be Walton’s MP on Monday, said the independent research showed a mayor and 12-strong assembly modelled on London could operate on a similar budget to the current “city-region” structure.

But it would offer the huge advantage of proper democratic accountability, in stark contrast to a “labyrinthine, convoluted, incestuous and opaque” system.

Mr Kilfoyle said: “We live in the most highly-centralised state in western Europe, where power remains concentrated in London and a handful of people in Liverpool determine what happens to the rest of us.

“Those people are not properly answerable to anyone locally and, as this report shows, most of the money goes to the people employed by these bodies, not frontline services.”

Mr Kilfoyle’s study, carried out by Liverpool firm KIP Research Ltd, said the average salary at the North West Development Agency (NWDA) was £83k.*

He added: “The people running these organisations are making a great living. It is not in their interests to do anything about what is going wrong. Millions of pounds are being spent – some would claim squandered – annually by bodies purporting to serve the interests of the region. I think this report will cause mayhem.”

The study is a follow-up to an earlier analysis, which concluded the region was a “cosy cabal” by proving a democratic system could run on the same annual budget of £2bn.

It calls for a directly-elected mayor, similar to London’s Boris Johnson, and a 12-strong assembly, with six directly-elected members and six nominated councillors, each earning £50,000.

It also argues an accountable and transparent system could have avoided some recent expenditure, including Destination Kirkby, which cost a minimum of £3m, Merseytram (£70m), Fourth Grace (£7.5m) and Capital of Culture 2008, which it describes as having “few lasting, tangible, quantifiable benefits”.

Sent to fellow MPs and key city bodies, the study also highlights the hefty costs to Merseyside taxpayers of quangos that “breed irresponsible spending and waste”, including the city-region “cabinet” (£6m), The Mersey Partnership (£6m), Merseyside Policy Unit (£0.5m), Merseyside Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (£1m), NWDA (£13m), the Government Office for the North West (£2.4m) and Liverpool Vision (£5m).

Mr Kilfoyle, who plans to keep fighting to implement his plans outside Parliament, said his personal preference was for a “Greater Liverpool” name, adding: “It is better recognised internationally.”

* Following the publication of this article the NWDA has asked us to point out that Mr Kilfoyle's study is wrong about this, and that their average salary is in fact £36,007. We are happy to make this clear.