05-22-2023, 07:25 PM
Cllr Steve Radford
Leader Liberal Party Group
Liverpool City Council
Dear Editor
Since the Electoral Reform Act of 1832 there has been an onus on boundary reviews to ensure that there is greater electoral equality between constituencies.
The local Government Boundary has swung that into reverse gear in the local elections within Liverpool in May 2023. The ward of Waterfront North elected a Labour Councillor with only 91 votes cast for him out of a potential electorate of 864.
At the same time two working class communities combined into a Tuebrook Larkhill ward had 624 voters elect their Liberal Party Councillor from a total electorate of 4821.
There we have it, the city centre’s affluent voters in city centre apartments have 5.6 more impact on the election of historic working-class communities, truly a return to the imbalance of the rotten borough system.
However, our concern about the boundary review is not just mathematical diversion and greater electoral inequality.
Of the 3 wards named West Derby none of them included the heart of West Derby Village.
Of the two wards named Tuebrook neither included the historic parish church of St. John The Baptist Tuebrook.
When the overwhelming majority of residents and community groups called for the north and south sides of Tuebrook be kept in one two set ward the boundary commission ignored the communal shopping area and community centres and said there were insufficient pedestrian crossing to show the area was one community.
There are in fact 5 pedestrian crossing connecting the south and north sides of the West derby Road- Millbank.
The Government should revert the boundary process to an open and transparent process where evidence is taken in person and cross examined and the current commission be suspended before they damage the electoral process and divide natural communities oblivious to the calls of the community in other cities or council’s.
Cllr Steve Radford
Leader Liberal Party
City of Liverpool
Leader Liberal Party Group
Liverpool City Council
Dear Editor
Since the Electoral Reform Act of 1832 there has been an onus on boundary reviews to ensure that there is greater electoral equality between constituencies.
The local Government Boundary has swung that into reverse gear in the local elections within Liverpool in May 2023. The ward of Waterfront North elected a Labour Councillor with only 91 votes cast for him out of a potential electorate of 864.
At the same time two working class communities combined into a Tuebrook Larkhill ward had 624 voters elect their Liberal Party Councillor from a total electorate of 4821.
There we have it, the city centre’s affluent voters in city centre apartments have 5.6 more impact on the election of historic working-class communities, truly a return to the imbalance of the rotten borough system.
However, our concern about the boundary review is not just mathematical diversion and greater electoral inequality.
Of the 3 wards named West Derby none of them included the heart of West Derby Village.
Of the two wards named Tuebrook neither included the historic parish church of St. John The Baptist Tuebrook.
When the overwhelming majority of residents and community groups called for the north and south sides of Tuebrook be kept in one two set ward the boundary commission ignored the communal shopping area and community centres and said there were insufficient pedestrian crossing to show the area was one community.
There are in fact 5 pedestrian crossing connecting the south and north sides of the West derby Road- Millbank.
The Government should revert the boundary process to an open and transparent process where evidence is taken in person and cross examined and the current commission be suspended before they damage the electoral process and divide natural communities oblivious to the calls of the community in other cities or council’s.
Cllr Steve Radford
Leader Liberal Party
City of Liverpool