“I am standing on a platform to unite our party in Liverpool & come together to rebuild post this global pandemic & take on this government. The communities we represent are poorly served if the Labour Party are fighting internally, but what unity can there be while our former leader who inspired so many is denied his rightful place in the PLP?”
Anna Rothery.
As a working-class woman brought up in Toxteth, I’ve never been afraid to speak truth to power. I’ve never compromised on my principles and I’ve always followed my own path, so after the year Liverpool has had with the pandemic and politics I decided to stand for Liverpool Mayor.
Liverpool is a wonderfully diverse place to live and I am proud of our reputation for an inclusive vibrant city, I would be humbled to be our first Black Woman Mayor, but I know it’s not going to be an easy task. Liverpool has been battered by more than a decade of Tory Austerity and now with the impact of Covid 19.
Liverpool was the first area of England to be placed in the very high level of coronavirus restrictions, whilst the Government dithered and delayed, changed the rules frequently without warning and left both our people and industries at risk with their repeated failures to put people and society over profits for their mates.
From the huge increase in food bank use, to the lack of support for the self employed, to businesses suffering from the impact of closure to the all important crisis in our NHS – our city needs help to cope with the fall out and I want to be at the heart of helping us recover.
Our key workers in Liverpool have done a great job in challenging circumstances, from our student doctors working in vaccine centers at the same time as studying, to retired nurses coming back in to help, to NHS staff working 19 hour shifts to keep things going, Care workers thrown to the wolves by this government, Education staff working to deliver education online and in school, to those keeping our streets clean and refuse collected, so many people keeping our vital services running. They are all heroes – but we have all been let down by this Government.
Despite their heroic efforts we have the worst death rate in the world because of the huge levels of health and income inequality in the UK and because of this Government’s shoddy decision making. The pandemic has shone a light on the deep inequalities in our society, people are really struggling and Liverpool has been hit harder than most.
As Mayor I would work with a wide coalition of people to collectively stand up to this Government and say enough is enough.
Our Labour and Trade union movement, as always will be the champions of the many, we must come together to tackle the cronyism of this government.
My Mayoralty would ensure that we are transparent, accountable and cooperative – with local communities at the heart of our decision making when we rebuild.
It’s essential that the interests of local people come first, not the interests of big property developers or property speculators, we must build community wealth and give people a real stake in the place we live in.
I have fought for 30 years including 15 years as a councillor to ensure our communities are genuinely represented. I passionately believe that as politicians we are not elected to put our own needs first or to waste time on frivolous partisan politics, but as the conduit for the needs and aspirations of the people we represent.
I have been taken aback by the floods of endorsements and encouragement from local people, to Liverpool legends as well as Jeremy Corbyn and Dawn Butler MP.
I have been clear in my support for Jeremy over many years, and under his leadership the people of Liverpool delivered the city’s highest ever vote for Labour. I was proud to speak alongside Jeremy from the top of the fire engine in Liverpool City Centre in 2016 and will continue to call for the whip to be reinstated. Jeremy’s vision of a society run in the interests of the many, not the few, is one that I share.
I am standing on a platform to unite our party in Liverpool and come together to rebuild post this global pandemic and take on this government.
The communities we represent are poorly served if the Labour Party are fighting internally, but what unity can there be while our former leader who inspired so many is denied his rightful place in the PLP?
- Anna Rothery is standing to be the first Black Woman Mayor of Liverpool – voting opens Wednesday 17th February.
- For more info see https://twitter.com/CllrAnnaRothery and https://www.facebook.com/CllrAnnaRothery
