Date posted:
Tue 13 April 2021
The 7-point manifesto is built on community feedback and promotes modern policies for real people.
A transformational vision for Liverpool was launched today as Labour candidate for Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Joanne Anderson published her 7-point manifesto ahead of local elections on 6th May 2021.
The collaborative document, drawn from the pledges, ideas, and priorities of almost 200 people from across the city sets out a clear vision for the future of Liverpool alongside plans to rebuild trust by prioritising transparency and community engagement.
Introducing innovative ways of dealing with the challenges faced by local communities Cllr Anderson has pledged a ‘Triple-lock: people, planet, equality’ approach to all decision making. Breaking from traditional politics where parties favour generic policies on climate change, if elected, Cllr Anderson aims to ensure every decision made by the council is scrutinised to provide value for local people and is measured against the city’s net-zero carbon target.
The 7- point manifesto, launched in a live webinar event on Friday 9th April, is an all-encompassing vision for a positive, thriving city that places value in the skills, ingenuity, and passion of its people.
Cllr Anderson said: “We are a socialist city, we see this every day, whether that is a young scouser helping a vulnerable person with shopping, the social projects helping our homeless, or residents caring for their neighbours and communities. Scousers don’t like to see people go without.
“Liverpool is a city that cares; a city of pride and ambition and this is our chance for a fresh start. A genuine chance to transform the city to create a fairer, greener, more ambitious future for its people.”
The 7-point manifesto pledges are:
Focus on early years development through Sure Start Centres and implement an urgent review of schooling and targets. Active collaboration with employers to address the skills gap and champion on-job training and creativity.
Community relationship building to encourage participation. Promote and build on community cohesion and work with experts to increase land assets to improve inclusion.
Accelerate programmes to create jobs and build skills. Support opportunities for growth in the social sector and income maximisation. There will also be a focus on food, food waste and community food shops.
Launch a Liverpool Future Recovery Plan driven by communities. Facilitate a ‘15-minute city’, community-led tourism and invest in culture, arts, creative and digital expertise.
Values-led leadership approach. Implement cross-party scrutiny and overhaul the complaints processes. Map out city assets, ensure transparency in regeneration work and better match cabinet portfolios with skills.
Recognise care at the heart of the COVID-19 recovery. Launch a Care Charter to transform design, delivery, and investment in the sector. Tackle the material cause of mental health crisis. Champion non-clinical social prescribing and recognise that poor health is the greatest barrier to full-time employment.
Lobby government for new council funding to build council homes once again. Crackdown on private landlords who don’t maintain properties with a city-wide landlord licensing scheme and give residents more say.
With each point of the manifesto triple-locked to include considerations for people, planet and equality, the document is a direct response to feedback from city residents and provides a framework for achievable improvement.
Labour Councillor Jane Corbet said: “Joanne has dedicated her life to challenging and tackling social, economic and racial injustice. Joanne is her own person. She is principled, passionate and says it like it is. As Labour Mayor, Joanne will stand up for our city, stand alongside our communities, listen to our young people, and help drive forward purpose-led ethical business. “
Community advocate, Rahmia Farah said: “I have seen first-hand Joanne’s desire to keep the community at the centre of what she does. We identified an issue with school admissions locally, and Joanne supported me to organise a meeting for over 70 parents and represented them in the council.
“I’m proud to be on the scrutiny panel alongside Joanne. With Joanne leading our city all residents will know that their voices will be heard, and their opinions will matter.@
If elected, Cllr Anderson will not only the first female leader but also Liverpool’s first black leader. Labour Councillor for Princes Park and business consultant, she has spoken about growing up in Liverpool in the ’80s and feeling that she ‘wouldn’t amount to much’ in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain.
“I will always be honest about our past and positive about our future. I want to transform our culture, change the way we do things and put social value, environmental impact and equality and inclusion at the heart of all decision-making. Let’s make history together.”
Liverpool City Mayor election takes place on Thursday 6th May 2021.