The case for a Merseyside Assembly
A Merseyside Assembly, based on the London model, would be the most effective way to push forward Merseyside’s interests in key areas such as strategic decision making, policing, culture, transport, public health, European funding, skills, fire & rescue services and many other services and policy areas.
The County of Merseyside, with a population of 1.36 million, is an ideal size for a manageable city-region and could bring together the five Merseyside boroughs of Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral as well as the boroughs of Halton and Ellesmere Port & Neston.
By respecting the integrity of these boroughs and building on their strengths as important centres of democracy and power, a new Assembly would be able to develop strategic functions and existing services.
This rules out proposals for a North West Assembly, since they inevitably preclude democratic arrangements specifically for large urban conurbations like Merseyside and Manchester. The North West, with a population of 7 million is too large, too diverse and lacking in any meaningful identity to represent the genuine needs of any single community whether urban, rural or suburban.
The formula for success is straightforward: 7 Boroughs = 1 Merseyside Assembly.
