Liverpool City Region's councils 'not agreed' on elected mayor model

Liverpool City Region includes Merseyside's five councils as well as Halton in Cheshire

Council leaders have not "agreed to the principle" of an elected mayor for the Liverpool City Region, the chair of the combined authority has told the BBC.

Treasury Minister Lord O'Neill claimed on Wednesday the region's leaders had "signed up to the concept" in talks.

But Councillor Phil Davies, who is also the leader of Wirral Council, said: "I have no idea why he is saying this."

He said councils were "keeping our options open" about how it would work, and over the issue of having a mayor.

Mr Davies added: "Lord O'Neill was not at the meeting with the secretary of state. Perhaps there was a breakdown in communications."

Arif Ansari, Political Editor, BBC North West Tonight

Lord (Jim) O'Neill was partly appointed to help drive devolution. But while he's a renowned economist, he's not an experienced politician.

It sounds like he has simply laid out the logic of the position as he sees it. The government won't approve any devolution deal unless it involves the creation of a so-called metro mayor.

Since the six council leaders have agreed to negotiate, Lord O'Neill has concluded they must be willing to accept a mayor in principle.

But those opposed to a mayor say they are simply negotiating. Nobody's conceding anything yet.

It's difficult to imagine the leaders turning down a decent devolution deal. And ultimately that suggests Lord O'Neill is right, that they will end up with a new mayor.

Some leaders in the city region, which includes Merseyside's five councils as well as Halton - geographically in Cheshire - are not thought to share Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson's desire to have a mayor for the whole area.

They have previously insisted they wanted a referendum on whether to have a directly elected mayor.

Earlier this year Mr Anderson said critics of plans to devolve more powers to the region were "bringing the area into disrepute".

Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson has clashed with some of the other councils over the issue of an elected mayor

Leaders met with Whitehall officials and the Local Government Secretary Greg Clarke on Monday and it was made clear that the only way the region could secure a devolution package similar to Greater Manchester was to accept the metropolitan mayor concept.

Former Goldman Sachs chief economist Lord O'Neill, one of the key drivers behind the government's "Northern Powerhouse" policy, told the BBC: "There was a statement made for an intent for... the Liverpool area.

"In my view that is good progress compared with where I suspected we might have been a few weeks ago.

"They (the council leaders) have signed up to the concept of an elected mayor for the broader metro area of Greater Merseyside.

"And now I will be involved with some of my colleagues in having some pretty active conversations with them on a timetable and what kind of powers they would have devolved to them."

When pressed, he said: "They have agreed to the principle of a mayor. That's been made clear in this statement."

The chancellor announced in the Budget that the government was working on deals to extend the idea of the "Northern Powerhouse" to Liverpool City Region, Sheffield City Region, and Leeds and West Yorkshire, in return for the creation of directly elected mayors.