Carl Cashman slams Metro Mayor’s 40-person conference delegation as ‘a waste of taxpayer cash’.

Liverpool Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Carl Cashman, has today fiercely criticised Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram for taking an oversized public sector delegation to the UKREiiF real estate conference in Leeds, branding it an "outrageous waste of taxpayers’ money."

Official delegation lists published by Invest Liverpool City Region reveal that a staggering 40 public-sector employees and council leaders from across the region are attending the three-day property event at the public's expense. 

The taxpayer-funded contingent includes a heavy presence of 12 officials from the Combined Authority, led by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram. Furthermore, 21 council representatives have travelled to Leeds, comprising 8 from Liverpool City Council, 6 from Sefton, 4 from Knowsley, 4 from Wirral, 3 from Halton, and 2 from St Helens.

As local authorities across Merseyside face severe financial pressures and residents cope with the high cost of living, the Liberal Democrats have questioned the economic sanity of funding dozens of bureaucrats to attend the luxury event.

Commenting on the delegation, Cllr Carl Cashman, Leader of the Liverpool Liberal Democrats, said:

"While families across the Liverpool City Region are tightening budgets just to get by, Steve Rotheram is treating the public purse like his own personal travel fund. Taking a massive squad of 40 public sector representatives to a conference in Leeds. This is an insult to Liverpool City Region taxpayers who are left footing the bill.

"This is a classic example of Labour bureaucracy out of control. We don’t need a small army of council employees wandering around an exhibition centre. If you want to do serious business and secure real investment for Liverpool, you need a tight, punchy team.

"We should be sending the Metro Mayor, the Chief Executive at the very most, and then back them up with three powerful, heavy-hitting local business leaders who actually know how to close a deal. Instead, we’ve got a massive public sector talking shop. It’s time for the Mayor to stop wasting public cash on vanity delegations and start showing some financial responsibility."

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Combined Authority to publish a full breakdown of the costs incurred by the 33 public sector attendees, including ticket prices, transport, accommodation, and hospitality expenses, to ensure full transparency for Merseyside residents.