Ask ten people on Bold Street who runs Liverpool and you will get eleven answers.
Some will say the Lord Mayor. Some will say Steve Rotheram. Some will say "wasn't it that fella who got arrested?" Two will just say "the council" and shrug.
They are all a little bit right and mostly wrong. Liverpool has, at various points in the last decade, had three separate people who could reasonably be called mayor. Only one of those roles has ever actually run the city. Confusing? Yes. Deliberately confusing? Also yes.
Here is what each role does, what it does not do, and who to have a proper go at when the bins do not get collected.
Why people are confused
Because Liverpool has three mayors, and the one everyone recognises from ceremonies is the one with the least power.
The Lord Mayor sits at the top table wearing a chain. The Metro Mayor turns up on Merseyrail announcements. The elected Mayor of Liverpool used to run the city until the job was abolished. And the person who currently runs the actual day-to-day council is a councillor most people cannot name.
That is the whole problem in one paragraph.
A very short history
Liverpool has had a Lord Mayor since 1893. That is a ceremonial title. Different councillor, every year, no real power over budgets or decisions.
The Metro Mayor is much newer. That role was created in 2017 to cover the whole Liverpool City Region: six local authorities, one elected boss for the big regional stuff. Steve Rotheram has held that job since day one.
The directly elected Mayor of Liverpool was a separate thing. It was introduced in 2012 as a bold experiment in concentrating power in one directly accountable person. Joe Anderson was the first to hold it. Joanne Anderson was the last. In May 2023, after a governance review and a lot of public grumbling, the role was abolished and Liverpool went back to a leader-and-cabinet system.
Three mayors. Two still exist. One is running things.
What people think each mayor does
Lord Mayor: probably signs stuff, opens things, argues with Manchester on the news.
Metro Mayor: probably runs Liverpool.
Elected Mayor of Liverpool: probably still exists.
None of these are right.
What each mayor actually does
The Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor is the first citizen of Liverpool. It is a ceremonial job. The Lord Mayor chairs full council meetings, wears the chain of office at civic events, hosts visiting dignitaries, and represents the city at commemorations and parades.
They do not set the council budget. They do not sign off on planning. They do not run services.
The role rotates. A different councillor each year takes it on for a twelve-month stint. If you ever see a photo of someone in Liverpool wearing a very large gold chain, that is the Lord Mayor. Please do not send them a complaint about your kerbside recycling.
The Metro Mayor
The Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region is elected by voters across Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, Wirral, St Helens and Halton. That is a much bigger patch than the city itself.
Powers include:
- Transport, including buses and Merseyrail investment
- Adult education and skills funding
- Some housing and regeneration strategy
- Economic strategy for the whole city region
Powers do not include:
- Bins in Liverpool
- Potholes on your street
- Planning applications on your neighbour's dodgy extension
- Council tax
- Schools admissions
Steve Rotheram has held this job since 2017. He was re-elected in 2021 and again in 2024. If your bus is on time, that is partly down to his office. If your bin was missed, it is not.
The Leader of Liverpool City Council
This is the person actually running Liverpool the city. Under the leader-and-cabinet model, councillors elect one of their own as leader. That person picks a cabinet, and the cabinet takes the big decisions on services, budgets and policy.
The leader is not directly elected by the public. You vote for your ward councillor. Your councillor and the rest of the council vote for the leader.
If you want to know who is in charge of Liverpool City Council's budget this week, this is the person. Their name changes with the political weather.
The (now abolished) directly elected Mayor of Liverpool
This role existed from 2012 to 2023. It gave one person, elected directly by residents of Liverpool, executive power over the city. Faster decisions, one accountable figure, in theory.
In practice it became controversial. Joe Anderson was the first holder and served until December 2020, when he stepped aside after being arrested as part of a Merseyside Police investigation into building and development contracts. He denies wrongdoing. Any legal proceedings are ongoing.
A government-commissioned report in 2021, the Caller Report, found serious governance failures at the council during that period, particularly around property and regeneration decisions. Government commissioners were sent in to oversee parts of the council from 2021.
Joanne Anderson (no relation) was elected in 2021 as the next city mayor. In 2023 the role was scrapped after a governance review and public consultation, and the council reverted to the leader-and-cabinet system.
The elected city mayor role no longer exists. Any complaint you send to it will not be read.
High points of the system
- Steve Rotheram's Metro Mayor role has produced visible results: new Merseyrail trains, real progress on public transport reform, and a single voice for the region when dealing with Westminster.
- The Lord Mayor role, ceremonial as it is, keeps a piece of civic tradition alive that most cities have kept alongside their modern politics.
Low points
- Nobody really knows who to complain to about anything.
- Voters have been asked to elect two different types of mayor at different times, sometimes in the same year, for offices with completely different jobs.
- The elected city mayor experiment collapsed in a way that damaged public trust and required commissioners to be brought in.
- Bin day is still a mystery.
Who has power now
For Liverpool the city, right now, actual power sits with:
- The Leader of Liverpool City Council (day to day city services, budgets, planning)
- The Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region (transport, skills, region-wide strategy)
- Councillors in your ward (local issues, casework)
- Central Government (still holds the purse strings and, in recent years, has held commissioners over parts of the council)
The Lord Mayor holds a very large chain.
What none of them can do
- Fix your neighbour's Wi-Fi
- Force the sun to shine in April
- Speed up an appointment at the Royal
- Repaint your front door
- Get you a good table at a bank holiday brunch
Final verdict
Liverpool did not need three mayors. It ended up with three by accident, then abolished one, and now has two that most people cannot tell apart.
The Metro Mayor runs the region.
The Leader runs the council.
The Lord Mayor runs the ribbon-cutting.
If you want to complain about bins, planning or council tax, go to your ward councillor first. If you want to complain about buses or trains, that one goes to the Metro Mayor's office. If you want to complain about the chain, take a number and join the queue at Town Hall.
Quick explainer box
- Lord Mayor of Liverpool: ceremonial. Rotates yearly. Big chain, small job.
- Metro Mayor (Liverpool City Region): elected by the region. Transport, skills, strategy. Not your bins.
- Leader of Liverpool City Council: elected by councillors. Runs the city day to day.
- Elected Mayor of Liverpool: abolished in 2023. No longer exists.
If in doubt, complain to your ward councillor. That is what they are there for.
