Video report: Michael Crick visits Liverpool as it prepares to elect a city-wide Mayor

Liverpool Watch

Lib Dem controlled Liverpool Council does not have a single Conservative councillor at present. But that does not mean there will be lack of scrutiny from this site. It is clearly a terrible Council. Complaints of Council houses left empty and boarded up are corroborated by figures from the Empty Homes Agency which state that there are 1,072 empty Council homes in Liverpool. (In fairness I should add that Labour-run Manchester has an even more staggering total of 1,830.)

A BBC report says that Liverpool has been ranked "as the most deprived city region out of 354 towns and cities across England." But the proposals to deal with it are worthless gimmicks such as: "A licensing forum to give locals a say on the impact of off-licence applications in their area." Residents already have the right to raise objections. A new network of talking shops will not turn the City around.

A Policy Exchange report recently suggested that Liverpudlians wishing to prosper should leave. It was co authored by Tim Leunig, a former Lib Dem Council candidate who signed Nick Clegg's leadership nomination papers. A more constructive idea would be for them to elect a Council with a proper grasp of how to restore enterprise and wealth creation.