Conor has urged the Government to boost voter turnout in the election for Liverpool’s first metro mayor.
The St Helens NorthхЪMP warned ministers must strive to avoid a repeat of the first elections for Police and Crime Commissioners when voting levels across the country were very low.
Conor saidхЪthat it was vital that turnout was high in next year’s contest to be the first metro mayor to ensure the winner had a “resounding mandate from right across Merseyside and the whole city region”.
In a parliamentary debate on Thursday, Conor told MPs that ‰лв despite some doubts on Merseyside about the Tory government’s move to impose a mayor in an area where it did not have a single MP ‰лв he welcomed the idea.
Conor said: “I firmly believe that a metro mayor serving the whole of Merseyside and the Liverpool city region can bring us tremendous opportunities for trade and investmentхЪand for creating a civic identity for the region.”
He addedхЪthat a “healthy rivalry” existed between St Helens and Liverpool on a number of matters, while people in Rainford, Billinge and Newton-le-Willows all identified with different areas like Lancashire, Wigan or Warrington.
Conor said that all the candidates standing to be the Labour contender for the job had made a virtue of including the whole Merseyside region in their plans.
But Conor urged government ministers, local councils and MPs to strive to make sure as many voters as possible had their say in who becomes the first metro mayor next year.
In Thursday’s debate, Conor made his point to Communities and Local Government Minister James Wharton.
He said: “With regard to turnout at the election next year, there is a duty on local authorities and all of us as elected Members from Merseyside, but also on the Government, to ensure that we do not have a repetition of the first elections for the police and crime commissioner, so that the new Mayor, whoever he or she is, has a resounding mandate from right across Merseyside and the whole city region.”
Tory Minister Mr Wharton said he agreed with Conor about boosting voter turnout and said: “It is incumbent on all of us to ensure that people understand the huge opportunity being presented to them, and why it matters that they get the right person to drive forward the economy in the Liverpool city region. I thank him for taking the time to make his comments.”