Steve Rotheram has won a second term as the Liverpool City Region’s Metro Mayor.
Rotheram was re-elected on Saturday with a 132,000 majority from votes cast across in Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, Halton and Wirral areas.
The 59-year-old was first elected the combined authority’s new leader in 2017, having previously served as Liverpool’s Lord Mayor and MP for Walton.
His closest opponent in the local elections ere Tory candidate Jade Marsden, who received 66,702 votes and the Greens’ Gary Cargill with 40,211 votes.
From the city of Liverpool area alone, Mayor Rotheram claimed just shy of 67,000 votes out of a total 100,167 cast to give Labour a 66 per cent share.
He used his victory speech to comment on a troubling period for the party, which had seen them lose the Hartlepool by-election just 24 hours earlier.
“The Labour Party is not just a passing vehicle to jump on to promote a personal ideology,” said Mayor Rotheram.
“The Labour Party is not a football to be kicked around by transient factions.
“We need to stop saying that we’ll listen and start hearing what people are telling us.”