Relations between Liverpool’s city and Metro mayors appear to be in disarray.
Communication has broken down between Steve Rotheram and Joe Anderson following the latter’s refusal to work with the region’s combined authority.
Anderson informed Rotheram, who was elected Metro Mayor last month, that he will not attending meetings of the Liverpool City Region.
In an email sent to Frank Rodgers, the City Region’s head of paid services, Mayor Anderson was aggrieved by the rejection of his request for a personal meeting.
The leader of Liverpool City Council warned Rodgers that his refusal to discuss the city region’s capital programme would have ‘damaging consequences’.
Anderson claims that Mayor Rotheram vetoed his planned meeting with Rodgers.
“From my point of view my meeting with Frank Rodgers was to try and look at technicalities and how we could help,” he told the Liverpool Echo.
“His PA sent me a message to say that the Metro Mayor had stopped Frank from meeting me and my email was a response to that.
“The question has to be asked, why did he stop that?
“The meeting was to solve the issues of people making bids that are ready to go live but that are oversubscribed – that is what we wanted to help with.”
As a result of the feud, Liverpool City Council staff are believed to have left their Mann Island offices, where they were assisting with combined regional work.
Metro Mayor Rotheram has responded to Anderson’s claims but remains hopeful that a resolution can be reached between the pair in the near future.
“It’s difficult at the moment,” he told Radio City Talk.
“I’ve got three brothers and four sister and at times we’ve fallen out but, believe me, we’re still very close.
“And the Labour party is a family and you’re never always going to get on all of the time.
“But I just think, on this occasion, that he was wrong to have done what he’s done and reacted the way he’s reacted.
“Hopefully we’ll sit down at some stage, we’ll have a coffee and a quiet conversation to try and rebuild what we need to do which is that the City Region is more important than any individual.”
Last year Rotheram saw off competition from Anderson and Wavetree MP Luciana Berger to win Labour’s nomination for the Metro Mayor elections.