It is a sad indictment that I am the only black representative out of 90 councillors, particularly when the black and minority ethnic community makes up over 8.2 per cent of the population. Cllr Anna Rothery

Liverpool City Council has recruited nine people to shadow councillors in a major new initiative to increase the number of black and minority ethnic councillors.

All parties on Liverpool City Council have joined forces with Operation Black Vote (OBV) - which promotes equality in politics - to tackle the under-presentation of Black and minority ethnic communities in the council chamber.

At present, just one of the 90 councillors in Liverpool is from a black and minority ethnic group, meaning that the city’s elected members are not representative of Liverpool’s diverse communities. This reflects research nationally which shows the average councillor is a white man aged 58.

Nine dynamic Liverpool residents - seven women and two men – have been selected for OBV’s award winning programme to gain an insight into the roles and responsibilities of a councillor. Each shadow been assigned to an elected member from the Liberal Democrat, Labour and Liberal Party’s and will follow them over the next six months.

They are being sworn in at a special event from 5:30-7:30pm in the council chamber at Liverpool Town Hall on Thursday 29th May. They will be welcomed by Lord Mayor Steve Rotheram, their mentors and the leaders of the three largest political groups on the council. The shadows will spend their time learning how the council works, all aspects of the decision making process and the life of a local councillor.

This will include attending constituency surgeries and observing council meetings such as working groups and select committees. Participants will also act as community ambassadors, holding community meetings to demystify the role of councillors and use the knowledge gained to encourage and inspire others to become active in civic life and promote better engagement.

Liverpool’s only current Black and minority ethnic councillor, Anna Rothery, is a graduate of the Operation Black Vote national MP shadowing scheme. She said: “It is a sad indictment that I am the only black representative out of 90 councillors, particularly when the black and minority ethnic community makes up over 8.2 per cent of the population and we have one of the oldest black communities in Europe, spanning 400 years.”

Councillor Steve Hurst, executive member for equalities, said: “The under-representation of the black and minority ethnic community has led to a feeling in the BME community that their voice is not heard. We have made huge strides in recent years in making our workforce more representative of the community – we now need to do the same with elected members.”