02 December 2005
Four candidates are vying to be the new leader of Liverpool City Council following the resignation of Mike Storey, who has been found guilty of breaking the councillors' code of conduct.
The Liberal Democrat group will meet to elect a new leader on December 5. Cabinet member for leisure Warren Bradley; former lord mayor Eddie Clein; his brother, member for children's services Paul Clein; and housing lead Flo Clucas have all thrown their hats into the ring.
Richard Kemp, the leader of the Local Government Association's LibDem group and a Liverpool councillor, has ruled himself out of the race.
Whichever candidate is elected group leader will be confirmed as Liverpool's new leader at a full council meeting on December 7.
The vacancy has arisen because Storey stood down from the job on November 25 after the Standards Board for England found that he had sought improperly to influence an officer working for the authority in order to undermine Liverpool's chief executive, Sir David Henshaw.
The row centres on allegations that Storey colluded with head of communications Matt Finnegan, who remains suspended, to try to force Henshaw out of his job.
The Standards Board concluded that Storey had breached the councillors' code in a way that brought 'his office and authority into disrepute'. But it decided not to take any further action because, upon seeing a draft of its findings, Storey accepted he had broken the code, apologised unreservedly and tendered his resignation as leader.
Board chair Sir Anthony Holland said: 'We hope this common-sense outcome will enable Liverpool City Council to overcome the difficulties which gave rise to our investigation.'
Storey, who will remain a councillor, apologised for the 'lapse' in the high ethical standards he said he had always tried to maintain.
'The people of Liverpool have a right to expect their elected representatives to uphold the highest levels of propriety and ethics at all times, and therefore I must now resign as council leader for this error of judgement.'
Henshaw said he was 'desperately saddened' by Storey's resignation, despite all that had happened.
'He has been a tremendous support as he and I have pushed through change. His decision is a massive disappointment to me, but I understand his reasoning.'
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