Councillors to decide on Liverpool elected mayor
Councillors are set to vote on whether or not to have an elected mayor in Liverpool at a meeting on Tuesday.
A Liverpool City Council spokesman said that having an elected mayor will help the city with its negotiations with the government to receive more powers under the 'city deals' plan.
Under the city deals schemes, power will be devolved from central government and all investment funds will be collaborated into a single fund, initially worth £130m.
Eleven cities across the UK are set to decide on having an elected mayor at referendums in May, but Liverpool wants to hold the mayoral elections on this date instead.
This will put Liverpool ahead of other cities and give it a "competitive advantage", according to the council. The option of an elected mayor has been open to Liverpool since 2000 but the council said the city deal makes electing a mayor a priority for the first time.
The council meeting to vote on an elected mayor will be held on Tuesday (7 February).
