Labour votes down Lib Dem Council Housing Promise 

• Liverpool Lib Dems have called on the City Council to commit to building council housing as a part of the North Liverpool regeneration
• Labour Councillors vote en masse to block expansion of council housing in Liverpool 
• Cllr Carl Cashman: “the Lib Dems are the only party that has committed and will deliver council housing in Liverpool”

The Liberal Democrats have made renewed calls for Liverpool City Council to rebuild it’s council housing stock with a new development in the north of the city. They have asked for a commitment that 40% of the proposed 10,000 new homes to be council homes. 

The Labour Party smacked down the proposal and voted against the amendment. This is not the first time that Labour have refused to back council house building in Liverpool. 

Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Carl Cashman has made council housing a top priority for the Liberal Democrats if they take over in 2027. He sees it as an essential step in the right direction for tackling the city’s housing crisis. 

Though they are over two years out from the Election Cllr Cashman has been meeting with sector experts on who to make this a success. He’s made it clear that partnership with private developers to deliver council housing in the first instance is the right step, and that there are already councils with successful existing models that Liverpool can and should start to replicate. 

The Lib Dems took a shot at the new ‘jobs tax’ that labour has imposed on employers by increasing their national insurance contributions. The Lib Dem leader has mentioned the concerns raised with him but small and medium sized businesses in the city who are concerned about their ability to hire, retain and increase the salaries of existing employees. 

The Liberal Democrats were keen to mention the important role that European regional development funding had played in recent regeneration including Liverpool One and conference centre. They think that rejoining the EU would.

Cllr Carl Cashman, Leader of the Opposition said:

“Regeneration is a good thing for Liverpool - when the Lib Dems delivered Liverpool One and Conference Centre using European development funding they had a massive positive impact on the city. We have another opportunity now with the North Liverpool regen scheme.

“We have the ability to use this new regeneration to tackle the housing crisis in Liverpool with 40% of these new homes being set aside for council housing - that would be 4,000 new council homes. We could have ended the dependence on hotels and temporary accommodation, and can give people homes.

“But the Labour Party chose not to. They voted down our amendment calling for making council housing a priority in our city. It feels like every day we have Labour becoming increasingly detached from the values and attitudes of the people it claims to represent. 

“We’ve been clear - the Lib Dems are the only party that has committed and will deliver council housing in Liverpool. It’s a core part of our mission to have a council that works for its residents.”