Never mind the voters, let's get on with the game of politics. That seems to be the attitude of the Lib Dems in Liverpool. By 1.30am on 2 May, the electorate had decided to bring to an end 10 years of Lib Dem overall control of the city. But, by 2am, they were back in charge, thanks to the defection of an Independent councillor. Local government in general, and Liverpool in particular, are no strangers to defections. But this manoeuvre, at the moment the voters had spoken, is likely to revive the stalled campaign for a directly-elected mayor for the city. Meanwhile, hopes that the deal would lead to more settled times have been shattered. The Lib Dem leader, Warren Bradley, is facing an internal challenge for his job from Richard Kemp, who leads his party on the LGA. Apart from the shenanigans in Liverpool and a heavy defeat in Pendle, it wasn't a bad night for the Lib Dems in the North. Gaining Sheffield, Hull and Burnley, and retaining Newcastle, strengthens the party's urban credentials. A feeling persists that the Labour Government pushed through the splitting of Cheshire into two unitaries on the basis it could win Cheshire West and Chester. The shadow authority has a Tory majority of 38. The Conservative party captured its first metropolitan district in North Tyneside. Meanwhile, over the Pennines, while the media focused on the capture of Bury, in the equally-critical next-door council of Bolton, the Tories made no headway against Labour. Plans for a congestion charge in Greater Manchester took a blow with the defeat of the chair of the transport authority – Roger Jones, in Salford. The Government's announcement on whether to back a £3bn public transport investment, that would precede the introduction of the charge, is still awaited. Jim Hancock is a freelance journalist, and former North West political editor for the BBC
