Joe Anderson has launched his bid to become metro mayor of the Liverpool City Region.
The current Mayor of Liverpool, who was recently elected for a second term with over 50% of the vote, has officially declared his interest in the wider metro mayor role and will compete against a number of prominent local Labour MPs for the party’s nomination.
Walton MP Steve Rotheram has already announced his candidature, while Luciana Berger, MP for Liverpool Wavertree is also expected to enter the running for the role.
The Liverpool City Region area accounts for five Merseyside councils, including Liverpool, St Helens, Knowsley, Sefton and Wirral – as well as Halton, Cheshire.
The inaugural metro mayor will preside over four key areas; economic development, transport, employment and skills, and development planning.
And Anderson has prioritised economic development, 50p bus fares for children and infrastructural in his initital manifesto.
Speaking at the launch, he said: “I want to make sure we have transport links, and HS2 and HS3 are vital to us so we can connect across the north – we are the front door to the Northern Powerhouse.”
Labour party members in the city will choose their candidate later this year, with the metro mayor elections scheduled for 2017.