Comment: Town Hall vote crucial for city

May 12 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

THERE could scarcely be a more critical time for Liverpool to become embroiled in a Town Hall leadership election.

Here we are, slap bang in the heart of Capital of Culture year, upon which so much of the city’s future fortune is deemed to depend, and Liverpool’s ruling Lib-Dem party runs the risk of splitting itself in two over tonight’s poll.

Two candidates have emerged to challenge incumbent leader Warren Bradley – Cllrs Paul Clein and Richard Kemp – and the only certainty is that the outcome is too close to call.

Firefighter Cllr Bradley has occupied the Liverpool hot-seat for what some might say has been a turbulent 2½ years.

Indeed, some might insist he has spent as much time fire-fighting inside the Town Hall as he has out of it.

We have seen the city’s reputation as a fun-loving centre for all things cultural tarnished by the debacle surrounding last year’s much-diminished Mathew Street Festival, for instance.

And there may yet be further fall-out from damaging allegations that Cllr Bradley conspired to oust former Culture Company chief executive Jason Harborow from his post.

The Standards Board is expected to conclude its investigation into the claims this summer, with a report that could even result in Cllr Bradley being forced to stand down, should he triumph in tonight’s ballot.

Our research has shown that attitudes among the Lib-Dems are very clearly polarised between those who feel it is time for change, and those still remaining fiercely loyal to Cllr Bradley.

We bang no drum for any of the candidates. Each of them will address councillors for 15 minutes tonight before taking questions from the floor, and we can have no idea who will put up the most persuasive arguments.

This is a critical time for Liverpool and, in the absence of local government elections in the city next year, whoever wins the vote will have at least two years in charge. All that we can justifiably hope for is that those entitled to vote do so in the best interests of the city they have been elected to represent.