LIVERPOOL’S Liberal Democrat leader, Warren Bradley, has refused to predict how long his party will be out of power in the city.

The former council leader, whose party lost control of the town hall last year, admitted May’s elections would be tough and the party would struggle to win back seats.

He spoke after former Lib-Dem council leader Mike Storey said the party would be in opposition for a “considerable period of time” and would need five years to rebuild and consolidate its position.

In the summer, Cllr Bradley warned that entering the coalition could spell disaster for the Liberal Democrats.

He said the party would be “wiped out” in the North if it did not start challenging decisions like the scrapping of the £350m Building Schools For The Future programme.

Last night, Cllr Bradley said: “It is very difficult to say [how long the Lib-Dems will be out of office] at this moment.

“I think the economy is going to get better in the country and I do not think there is going to be a decimation of public services.

“But I still think there is a real feeling of unhappiness [among the Liverpool electorate] that we are not in control of the city. It is not going to be easy, I think we have got to work hard. There are some parts of the city which will be hard to win back.”