Photo: Miguel Mendez (CC BY 2.0) via Wikimedia Commons
Civic
Who Actually Runs Liverpool? Meet the 10 Councillors with the Biggest Say Over Your City
Meet Liverpool's ten Cabinet councillors, the services and decisions they oversee, their records in office and how residents can contact them directly.
From your bins and council tax to housing, roads and children's services, these are the ten elected politicians on Liverpool City Council's Cabinet. We look at their responsibilities, what has improved and what questions residents should be asking.
Liverpool has 85 elected councillors. Just ten sit in the Cabinet, the council's main executive decision-making body.
You probably don't think about them while putting the bins out, finding somewhere to park or wondering what will happen to a local leisure centre. But the decisions they oversee can change everyday life in Liverpool.
Some have helped deliver independently recognised improvements. Others have defended policies that angered traders, residents and community groups. Several held important roles during Joe Anderson's administration; others are newer to office.
So who are they? And who do you contact when a decision affects you?
No. Full Council approves the budget and major policy framework. Planning and licensing committees perform different statutory duties, and officers make some decisions through delegated powers. The Cabinet, led by Liam Robinson, is the council's main executive decision-making body, overseeing major services and priorities.
That is why knowing these ten people matters. Below, each photograph links to the councillor's official page, where residents can find contact details, committee appointments, declarations of interests and other public records.
Leader of Liverpool City Council | Kensington & Fairfield | Labour
Liam Robinson is the person expected to answer for the direction of Liverpool City Council. He became leader in May 2023, when the city returned from the directly elected mayoral system to a leader-and-cabinet model. He was already a long-serving councillor and had held major transport responsibilities at Liverpool City Region level.
He inherited a council with a damaged reputation. After a damning 2021 governance inspection, commissioners were appointed to oversee improvements in specified areas. The intervention ended in June 2024, and independent reviewers recognised substantial progress.
That progress matters. But in September 2025 the Information Commissioner's Office took enforcement action over the council's handling of Freedom of Information requests. During the period examined, only 56% were answered within the statutory deadline. Robinson did not personally process those requests, but the failure occurred while he led the authority.
The question: Has the improvement in how the council governs itself reached the people trying to get an answer from it?
Deputy Leader: Finance, Resources and Transformation | Belle Vale | Labour
Ruth Bennett holds one of the most influential jobs in the council: the finance portfolio. When residents ask why their council tax has gone up, why a facility is struggling or why a service is being cut, the money is part of the answer.
The council's 2026/27 budget includes major additional investment in demand-led services, including adult social care, children's services and homelessness, plus funding for parks, green spaces and streets. Those are commitments, not proof that every promised improvement has happened.
Bennett served as the Labour group's Chief Whip during Joe Anderson's administration. That was a senior party role, but not the same as having executive responsibility for finance.
The question: Can residents trace the money from a council budget announcement to a visible result in their neighbourhood?
Deputy Leader: Transport and Connectivity | Yew Tree | Labour
Roadworks and parking are where council policy becomes impossible to ignore. Daniel Barrington's portfolio covers local highways, road safety, parking and transport connections.
The controversy around the parking zone introduced near Everton's new waterfront stadium shows why consultation matters. The council wanted to protect residential streets and manage matchday traffic. Some local businesses feared the restrictions would drive customers away, while residents had differing views about what was needed.
Following objections, the council reviewed the scheme and temporarily suspended restrictions in business areas while considering changes. Reviewing an unpopular scheme was positive, but it also prompted the question of whether those practical problems could have been anticipated sooner.
The question: How will residents and businesses be heard before a transport scheme begins, rather than after it has caused problems?
Adult Social Services | City Centre South | Labour
Adult social care rarely gets the publicity given to regeneration schemes, but its consequences are enormous. Angela Coleman oversees the political direction of support for older people, disabled adults, carers and residents with complex care needs.
There is a measurable success to recognise. In September 2025, the Care Quality Commission rated Liverpool City Council's adult social care responsibilities Good. Inspectors identified strengths, while also finding areas where services needed further improvement, including elements of assessment, safeguarding and continuity.
Credit belongs to the people delivering care, their managers and the council's leadership. A positive inspection judgement is a meaningful achievement, but not an assurance that every resident has had a good experience.
The question: Can the council sustain that progress while making access to timely help more consistent?
Health, Wellbeing and Culture | Knotty Ash & Dovecot Park | Labour
Liverpool knows how to stage major cultural events. Harry Doyle's brief involves the festivals, venues and experiences that bring visitors and pride to the city. But he is also responsible for services that matter every week, rather than once a year.
The future of Everton Park and Park Road Lifestyles centres has worried people who use those facilities to swim, exercise, socialise and take part in community sport. The council explored alternative operating arrangements because of financial pressures, saying it wanted the centres to remain available for community use.
By January 2026, opposition councillors were still asking for clearer answers about the facilities' long-term future. Financial sustainability is a real challenge. So is the loss of accessible local leisure if workable arrangements cannot be found.
The question: Can residents be given a clear, lasting plan for these facilities, including affordability?
Children's Social Services | Kensington & Fairfield | Labour
Few council responsibilities are more serious than protecting vulnerable children. When Liz Parsons took the children's social services portfolio in 2023, Liverpool's services had received an Inadequate overall judgement from Ofsted.
The subsequent improvement is substantial. Ofsted's July 2026 report graded important parts of the service Good, including leadership and support for children needing help and protection. The Department for Education later lifted the improvement notice. Support for care leavers still Required improvement to be good, an important distinction.
Parsons was a Cabinet member during the Joe Anderson years, with responsibility for communities and partnerships. That background is part of her political record, not evidence of personal involvement in the governance failures investigated in 2021.
The question: How will the council sustain the improvements and bring support for care leavers up to the same standard?
Communities, Neighbourhoods and Streetscene | Arundel | Labour
Bins, litter and fly-tipping are not abstract policy debates. People can see immediately whether the street outside their home is getting cleaner. Laura Robertson-Collins oversees the council's political approach to neighbourhood and streetscene services.
In September 2026, the council reported that contamination in blue recycling bins had fallen by 13% year on year. It has also announced investment in neighbourhood cleaning and maintenance. These are welcome developments, but residents will judge performance by regular collections and the actual condition of their streets.
Robertson-Collins has held Cabinet responsibility before. Joe Anderson appointed her Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability in 2019.
The question: Will improvements be consistent across Liverpool, rather than concentrated where problems attract the most attention?
Nick Small is one of Liverpool's most experienced senior politicians, with responsibilities spanning development, investment and the local economy. He was an Assistant Mayor during Joe Anderson's administration before being removed from the senior team in 2018 following political tensions.
His current portfolio sits where economic arguments often collide with people's attachment to places. In March 2024, the council closed St Johns Market after a prolonged dispute over rent and service charges, arguing that the ongoing subsidy was unsustainable. Traders described the shock of losing their livelihoods. The financial case and the human impact both deserve attention.
The dispute over land near the African Caribbean Centre in Toxteth showed another tension. Plans for a new school caused concern for the centre, leading to scrutiny and a reconsidered Cabinet decision. The school addressed a real educational need, while the centre's community importance deserved protection.
The question: How can the council pursue regeneration without communities feeling that plans arrive before they've been properly consulted?
Housing is not simply a question of building more homes. It is also about the family in temporary accommodation, the resident dealing with poor conditions and the empty property left sitting unused. Hetty Wood oversees the council's housing portfolio.
The council has tried to reduce reliance on expensive temporary accommodation. A direct lettings arrangement has helped households move into social housing, and the council has pursued work to bring empty properties back into use.
But there is still enormous pressure on affordable housing and homelessness services. A savings figure doesn't capture what it feels like for a family waiting for a suitable home.
The question: How quickly can Liverpool reduce reliance on temporary accommodation while increasing access to secure, affordable homes?
Employment, Educational Attainment and Skills | Sandfield Park | Labour
Joanne Kennedy joined Liverpool City Council in 2023, making her the newest elected councillor among today's Cabinet members. Her brief covers employment, educational attainment and skills.
The council has participated in the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer Programme, testing ways to help young people move towards education, training and work. Partnerships with employers and voluntary organisations can create opportunities for residents who need a start.
The crucial question is whether the schemes produce lasting outcomes. It is too early to describe a programme as a proven success without reliable evidence of the jobs, apprenticeships and qualifications achieved.
The question: How many Liverpool young people are gaining lasting opportunities, and how will the council measure that?
How many of today's Cabinet were around during Joe Anderson's administration?
Nine of the ten were already elected Liverpool councillors in 2020. That does not mean all nine held Cabinet powers. Their jobs and influence varied considerably.
Nick Small served as an Assistant Mayor, Liz Parsons held a communities Cabinet portfolio, and Laura Robertson-Collins became an environment Cabinet member in 2019. Ruth Bennett served as Labour group Chief Whip, a political group role. Liam Robinson had important transport responsibilities at Liverpool City Region level, a separate authority. Joanne Kennedy was elected in 2023.
Those roles deserve examination, but holding office during the Anderson years does not establish involvement in wrongdoing. The fair questions are what responsibilities each person had, what they challenged and what they have changed since.
Has Liverpool City Council improved?
In some important respects, yes. The end of statutory government intervention and positive regulator findings for children's services and adult social care deserve recognition. Funding announcements and policy promises still need to be judged by the outcomes residents actually experience.
Disputes over St Johns Market, stadium parking and neighbourhood facilities point to an enduring challenge: how can a council make decisions efficiently without leaving those affected feeling excluded?
Liverpool doesn't need ten politicians who agree with everybody. It needs decision-makers who can explain themselves, acknowledge progress without exaggeration and respond when things go wrong.
Knowing who these ten people are is only the beginning. The test is what changes on Liverpool's streets, in its homes and in the services residents use.
L1Local Council Watch examines public decisions affecting Liverpool residents, businesses and communities. Visit Council Watch.
Each councillor's headshot is from their individually linked official Liverpool City Council profile. Photo reuse rights should be checked before publication; public availability does not necessarily grant a republication licence.
Source links for portfolio outcomes, disputes and regulator assessments are supplied within each profile.
Unverified as of 21 October 2026: the final long-term arrangements for Everton Park and Park Road Lifestyles centres, final Youth Guarantee employment outcomes, and whether all St Johns Market and African Caribbean Centre commitments have been fulfilled. Historical performance figures are dated and should not be described as current.
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