Steve Rotheram | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rotheram in 2024 | |
| Mayor of the Liverpool City Region | |
| Assumed office 8 May 2017 | |
| Deputy | see list |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Member of Parliament forLiverpool Walton | |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 3 May 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Kilfoyle |
| Succeeded by | Dan Carden |
| Member ofLiverpool City Council forFazakerley | |
| In office 2 May 2002 – 5 May 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Alan Poole |
| Succeeded by | Peter Clarke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Steven Philip Rotheram (1961-11-04)4 November 1961 (age 64) Kirkby, England |
| Party | Labour |
| Education | Ruffwood School Kirkby Further Education College |
| Alma mater | Liverpool John Moores University (BA) Liverpool Hope University (MA) |
| Website | www |
Steven Philip Rotheram (born 4 November 1961) is a British politician serving asMayor of the Liverpool City Region since 2017. A member of theLabour Party, he wasMember of Parliament (MP) forLiverpool Walton from 2010 to 2017.
Born and raised inKirkby, Rotheram left school to become a bricklayer and set up his own construction company at the age of 22. He earned aMaster's degree in Contemporary Urban Renaissance fromLiverpool Hope University and worked as a business manager for theLearning and Skills Council. He was elected to representFazakerley for Labour onLiverpool City Council from 2002 to 2011, and served asLord Mayor of Liverpool from 2008 to 2009.
After serving as an MP andParliamentary Private Secretary to theLeader of the Opposition, Rotheram won a majority vote at the2017 Liverpool City Region mayoral election and re-election in2021. He was re-elected in2024.
Steven Philip Rotheram was born inKirkby[1][2] on 4 November 1961,[3] the son of housewife Dorothy (née Phillips) and forklift driver Harry Rotheram.[4] His father also served as aLabour Party councillor. He has seven siblings and attendedRuffwood School in Kirkby.[1][5] His parents divorced when he was a teenager, which Rotheram later partly attributed to his father's absences caused by his devotion to his political career.
Rotheram left school at the age of 16 to become a bricklayer, setting up his own company at the age of 22.[6] He spent eight months rebuilding war-torn infrastructure in theFalkland Islands in 1983, an experience he did not enjoy.[7] On his return, disillusioned by what he saw as the exploitation of employees on British building sites, he was determined not to work for anyone else again and set up the company Rotheram Builders.[5] Alongside his work in the construction industry, he studied part-time in order to gain admittance toLiverpool John Moores University, where he studied full-time before starting aMaster's in Contemporary Urban Renaissance atLiverpool Hope University.[citation needed] He worked as a business manager for theLearning and Skills Council for many years after graduating.
Rotheram was elected to representFazakerley as aLabour Councillor forLiverpool City Council inthe 2002 election.[1] He later served asLord Mayor of Liverpool from 2008 to 2009, which coincided with Liverpool's period asEuropean Capital of Culture.[6] In a 2009 speech on the 20th anniversary of theHillsborough disaster, he said, "I'm one of the fortunate ones, as I swapped myLeppings Lane ticket for a stand seat 15 minutes before kick-off... if I can go from being a brickie in Kirkby to the Lord Mayor, who knows what these 96 people may have achieved in their lives?"[8]
After incumbent Labour MPPeter Kilfoyle announced that he would be standing down as MP forLiverpool Walton in 2010, Rotheram was overwhelmingly selected to be the Labour candidate securing 101 out of 113 votes cast by the local association.[9] At the2010 general election, Rotheram retained the seat with a comfortable majority of 19,818.[10] Shortly after becoming an MP, he was elected to serve on theCommunities and Local Government Committee. In October 2011, Rotheram joined theCulture, Media and Sport Committee where he askedJames Murdoch if he would closeThe Sun newspaper following theNews International phone hacking scandal in 2011.[citation needed]
In October 2011, Rotheram gave an emotional speech to theHouse of Commons where he read out the names of all 96[a]Hillsborough disaster victims so they would be recorded inHansard, and called for the release of all government papers relating to the disaster. After the papers were released in September 2012, showing widespread corruption fromSouth Yorkshire Police, Rotheram called uponPrime MinisterDavid Cameron to issue an apology on behalf of the government, which he later did.[11][12]
In September 2012, along with members ofThe Farm,Mick Jones, and formerLiverpool managerKenny Dalglish, Rotheram helped organise a number of artists to record a cover of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" as "The Justice Collective", in an attempt to becomeChristmas UK number one and keep the Hillsborough justice campaign in public awareness and raise money for families' legal costs.[13] The cover included contributions from artists such asPaul McCartney,Robbie Williams,Holly Johnson andMelanie C, as well as featuring Rotheram himself[citation needed]. On 23 December 2012, it was confirmed that the cover had become Christmas number one.[14]
Rotheram was one of 16 signatories of an open letter toEd Miliband in January 2015 calling on the party to commit to oppose further austerity, take rail franchises back into public ownership and strengthen collective bargaining arrangements.[15] Rotheram was the Labour leaderJeremy Corbyn'sParliamentary Private Secretary.[16]
In 2016, Rotheram said he intended to stand for theLabour nomination to becomeLiverpool City Region mayor in the2017 mayoral election, and was selected as the Labour candidate in August 2016.[16][17] He announced that he would not seek re-election as a Member of Parliament if successful in the mayoral election. Rotheram was subsequently elected mayor in 2017.
Rotheram's first months in power were focused on setting up the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Improving the region's transport infrastructure and connectivity was a pillar of his mayoral campaign and became the primary focus of his first term in office. In 2019, alongsideAndy Burnham, he led a successful campaign to stripNorthern Rail of its franchise, after services had become blighted by disruption.[18]
During his first term, Rotheram oversaw major upgrades to theMerseyrail network in preparation for the introduction of a 52-strong fleet of new trains, the result of a £460 million investment by the Combined Authority[19] and the opening of the first new station on the network in over 20 years atMaghull North station.[20]
In 2019, Rotheram introduced half-price travel for apprentices aged 19-24 and launched Be More, a UCAS-style apprenticeship portal.[21][22] In his Mayoral campaign, Rotheram pledged to address “the scandal of rough sleeping in Liverpool City Region” and in 2019, he launched the first phase of theHousing First programme in 2019, an £8 million pilot scheme providing homes and support to homeless people across the region.[23]
In 2019, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority became the first in the country to declare a climate emergency and has set a target to be net zero carbon by 2040 or sooner. Rotheram has said he “wants Liverpool City Region to be at the forefront of the Green Industrial Revolution” by investing environmental projects, improving public transport and exploring the potential for atidal project in theRiver Mersey.[24] In December 2022 Rotheram stated that he hoped the tidal power project could be generating electricity by the end of the decade.[25]
Amidst theCOVID-19 pandemic, Rotheram accepted a deal with the British government in October 2020 to place the Liverpool City Region underTier 3 restrictions, following a sharp rise in cases across northern England. Despite facing strong criticism for agreeing to impose restrictive measures on the region, he was successful in securing additional government support for businesses affected by the restrictions.[26] Following his re-election, he announced a £150 million COVID Recovery Fund to support the economy and create jobs as the region emerged from the pandemic.[27]
In the election of 6 May 2021, Rotheram was re-elected for a second term with an increased majority[28][29] bucking the national trend against Labour in traditional heartlands.[30] In his manifesto, Rotheram made five key pledges: helping the city region bounceback from COVID, supporting young people into education or training, improving public transport, leading the race to net-zero and improving digital connectivity.[31]
In January 2022, Rotheram, alongside Greater Manchester MayorAndy Burnham, renewed calls for a Hillsborough Law to ensure fair treatment for people bereaved in public tragedies.[32] The campaign was later supported byKeir Starmer who stated at Labour party conference in 2023 that "one of my first acts as Prime Minister will be to put the Hillsborough Law on the statute book".[33]
On 6 October 2023, Rotheram delivered on a key manifesto pledge and voted to end 40 years of bus deregulation in the Liverpool City Region, using the powers in theBus Services Act 2017 to bring services back into public control.[34] The move was supported unanimously by leaders of the city region’s local authorities and was welcomed by local passenger groups who argued the announcement would be “transformational for passengers”.[34]
In January 2023, the first of theBritish Rail Class 777 trains went into service on theMerseyrail network, following a £500m rail investment from theLiverpool City Region Combined Authority. The early rollout of the battery-operated trains was marred by cancellations and faults.[35][36] In November 2023, Rotheram spoke of his frustration at the roll out and criticised train manufacturerStadler and demanded immediate improvements for passengers[37] and later announced a package of compensation for the most affected passengers and a fare freeze across theMerseyrail network. In the intervening months, performance onMerseyrail improved sharply, with train punctuality returning to the mid-90% andMerseyrail regaining its status as one of the best performing operators in the country.[38]
Following government intervention intoLiverpool City Council, Rotheram was appointed bySecretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and CommunitiesGreg Clark to chair the Liverpool Strategic Futures Advisory Panel to develop a long-term plan to guide Liverpool City Council out of the current government intervention and help shape the future of the city.[39] Rotheram was joined by BaronessJudith Blake and SirHoward Bernstein and set out three keys priorities for the city rebooting Liverpool’s regeneration, 21st century public service reform, and turbocharging the innovation economy.[40] The work of the Panel was welcomed by leader ofLiverpool City Council,Liam Robinson who heralded a “new era of partnership working” across the city region[41] andMichael Gove announced a £31m investment in the city to kickstart regeneration across the city and a commitment to work with the city region to develop an Office of Public Service Innovation.[42]
In February 2023, Rotheram announced his intention to stand for a third term as Mayor[43] and was re-selected unanimously as the Labour candidate in March.[44] His campaign included a pledge to drive upforeign direct investment into the Liverpool City Region by 25% by the end of the decade and a commitment to build 3 new stations on the Merseyrail network at Carr Mill inSt Helens, Woodchurch inWirral, and Daresbury inHalton.[45][46]
A further pre-election announcement was made regarding plans to improve connectivity toLiverpool John Lennon Airport and the city’s football stadia by introducing bus rapid transit, similar to that which operates inBelfast. The announcement was met with mixed reception with some welcoming plans to address a strategic transport priority, whilst others accused the pledge of lacking ambition.[47][48]
Rotheram was re-elected at the2024 Liverpool City Region mayoral election.[49] He was elected with 68% of the vote and was declared the winner on 4 May 2024.
Rotheram and his wife, psychiatric nurse Sandra, have three children together.[6] His two daughters survived the 2017Manchester Arena bombing.[50]
In 2024, Rotheram co-authoredHead North: A Rallying Cry for a More Equal Britain with theGreater Manchester MayorAndy Burnham.[7][51] The book was described by Jonathan Ball in theNew Statesman as simplifying theNorth–South divide in England to "'London elite' vs 'neglected north' caricatures".[52] He also pointed out that the book wasghostwritten by Liam Thorp, political editor of theLiverpool Echo, "the most senior local journalist tasked with holding [Rotheram] to account" (though actually "painting flawed local leaders in overly positive hues").[52]
"I could just smell the bullshit"
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lord Mayor of Liverpool 2008–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Parliamentary Private Secretary to theLeader of the Opposition 2015–2017 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Mayor of the Liverpool City Region 2017–present | Incumbent |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forLiverpool Walton 2010–2017 | Succeeded by |