FORMER Liverpool  council leader Mike  Storey last night   warned that the Liberal  Democrats will be in  opposition for a  “considerable period of  time” in the city.

In an exclusive  interview about his new  peerage, the  headteacher said he had  accepted the  opportunity to sit in the  House of Lords because  it gave him the chance  to continue to make a  difference in society.

His own party, under successor Warren Bradley,  lost  control of Liverpool  Town Hall in May after  a dozen years in charge and he doesn’t foresee them returning soon.

Liverpool council tends to swing in the opposite direction to that of the national government

“I don’t think it’s an organised rebellion, but Liverpool certainly goes against the national flow. There will be a  period of consolidation  and rebuilding over five  years,” he said.

In February he will be made Lord Storey of Liverpool in recognition of his huge contribution to life in the city.

In an exclusive interview he told the Daily Post how his political career almost ended before it had started and how he failed his 11-plus exams.