Our group leader in Liverpool, Cllr Richard Kemp, has outlined the drama, fear and loathing, accusation and counter-accusation that is the rather sorry life of the city’s Labour administration at the moment. It’s almost like we’re back in the 80s. In no way does the Labour party sound like any sort of competent administration.

It’s quite a story.

I’ve been an active politician in Liverpool for 44 years but I have never seen anything like the farce that is being played out within the Liverpool Labour Group at the moment. Even when things were at their most rancorous in the Lib Dem Group, and we did have arguments, they were sweetness and light to what is happening with Labour at the moment.

Of the 10 people in the Cabinet on 2^nd May only 5 are left. One we defeated, three have resigned and one has been sacked. The departures include the Deputy Mayor and one of the assistant Mayors. Labour’s enforcer-in-chief and best mate of the Mayor, Cllr Alan Dean, has also lost an election – this time inside the Labour Party!

Such change is absolutely unprecedented and shows the panic that is currently going through the Labour Group. But even more unprecedented is the way that this is all being fought out in public. Tweets, statements and requests for action are being openly paraded and sent to the press or in other cases leaked to the Press and Liberal Democrats.

The LIb Dems have a plan to provide some serious opposition, but Richard appeals for help:

This really does matter to all of us. The squabbling between the Mayor and Labour MPs and the City Region Mayor and the civil war inside the Labour Group are damaging our credibility and are taking us right back to the time of Militant and the 80s. You don’t see those effects immediately because if a company has spent a lot of time considering an investment proposal they will probably proceed. However, it will become harder and harder to get public and private investment because there are safer and easier places to invest their time, efforts and money than what they might consider to be Dodge City.

In the meantime, my Lib Dem colleagues and I are looking at several options for trying to regularise our systems of governance and restore stability into the system. We will be announcing two ways forward in this coming week so please watch out for them.

But we are also resolved to break this deadlock in a better way and that is to defeat Labour at the polls. In 2016 we made two gains and in 2018 we made 3. We now need to speed that up. As we said before the election every vote gained, every council seat gained increases our opportunities to hold Anderson & Co to account. With 7 members we can do things that we could not do with 4. For example, we are now on every committee and can join the dots better. For the next 12 months my colleagues and I will be looking under every stone to see what is going on.

BUT we need your help. Evil flourishes when good men (and women) stand aside. Come and help us by joining our Party at www.libdems.org.uk. Help us save the City which we all love.

The Labour drama is set to continue. All the while, kids in Liverpool need to be educated, they need youth services, the elderly need to be cared for, the bins need to be collected and the roads need to be kept in good condition. Richard and his team of councillors will no doubt be concentrating on these vital day to day issues.