Commenting on Chancellor George Osborne’s speech about devolution, Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said:
“This is a significant statement by the Chancellor and underlines that any devolution of powers, akin to the package Greater Manchester has already negotiated, must include a metro mayor.
“It’s now up to all the leaders of Merseyside councils to sit down together and agree on the measures we want to see devolved.
“We then need to negotiate a deal with the Treasury and then put this overall package to the voters across Merseyside in a referendum.
“The chance to run police, transport, skills and health across the city-region is a game-changer. Along with new housing investment, it will help us to transform our economy, create thousands of new jobs, improve services and spread prosperity.
“This is not just a question about whether we have a metro mayor. It’s bigger than that. It’s about whether we run our own affairs, take control of our own destiny and position the Liverpool City-Region as one of the premier cities in the UK and Europe.”
