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| Why I love Liverpool – by mayor Joe Anderson | Why I love Liverpool – by mayor Joe Anderson |
| (7 months later) | |
| Like so many young people growing up in Liverpool in the sixties, I found work in the merchant navy. It was a great time for Liverpool, when dozens of ships would line up along the Mersey waiting to dock. And as our city went from strength to strength and as I learned my trade, I fell in love with the city that I still call home today. It is a place that can astound you, surprise you, stun you and leave you with a feeling like no other city in the world. | Like so many young people growing up in Liverpool in the sixties, I found work in the merchant navy. It was a great time for Liverpool, when dozens of ships would line up along the Mersey waiting to dock. And as our city went from strength to strength and as I learned my trade, I fell in love with the city that I still call home today. It is a place that can astound you, surprise you, stun you and leave you with a feeling like no other city in the world. |
| It was while I was at sea that I became politicised. I joined a trade union and I led sit-ins, demanding better pay and conditions for my co-workers. When I finally left working on the ships, I went to university, where I educated myself, gained a degree, and then went into local politics. | It was while I was at sea that I became politicised. I joined a trade union and I led sit-ins, demanding better pay and conditions for my co-workers. When I finally left working on the ships, I went to university, where I educated myself, gained a degree, and then went into local politics. |
| Would I say I love local government? Yes. It might seem a strange thing to say: councils get such a bad press in our country, along with the rest of the public sector, as they are blamed for everything under the sun by central government. And yet it's the things that local authorities do every day – that most people don't even notice are going on – that make me really value the work we do. | Would I say I love local government? Yes. It might seem a strange thing to say: councils get such a bad press in our country, along with the rest of the public sector, as they are blamed for everything under the sun by central government. And yet it's the things that local authorities do every day – that most people don't even notice are going on – that make me really value the work we do. |
| Local government does far more than just empty the bins and sweep the pavements. Councils provide care and support for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. They provide somewhere to turn to for people who have lost all hope. For the homeless, we provide somewhere to sleep and something to eat. For the elderly, disabled and sick, it's the care and support they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford that is so valued. | Local government does far more than just empty the bins and sweep the pavements. Councils provide care and support for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. They provide somewhere to turn to for people who have lost all hope. For the homeless, we provide somewhere to sleep and something to eat. For the elderly, disabled and sick, it's the care and support they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford that is so valued. |
| It is upsetting that local government is being hit so hard, at a time when it deserves a little bit of love from a government that doesn't seem to love it very much at all. It is precisely because I love Liverpool that I can also say I love local government – because the work we do is relied on by so many people in our city. | It is upsetting that local government is being hit so hard, at a time when it deserves a little bit of love from a government that doesn't seem to love it very much at all. It is precisely because I love Liverpool that I can also say I love local government – because the work we do is relied on by so many people in our city. |
| I still get excited coming into work every day. Liverpool has a long and proud history. But our future excites me even more. We have big ideas for our city. We have massive schemes that will help Liverpool turn the corner. More and more, when people come here, they go away thinking they can't wait to come back. They go away thinking: "I love Liverpool!" | I still get excited coming into work every day. Liverpool has a long and proud history. But our future excites me even more. We have big ideas for our city. We have massive schemes that will help Liverpool turn the corner. More and more, when people come here, they go away thinking they can't wait to come back. They go away thinking: "I love Liverpool!" |
| Joe Anderson is the mayor of Liverpool | Joe Anderson is the mayor of Liverpool |
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