In his most in-depth interview since his fall from grace, the former mayor tells The Post: 'I can look you in the eye and swear on the holy Bible. I’ve never done anything to hurt this city'
What strikes me throughout this whole article is the absolute opacity of our local democracy. There seems to be no real way, at this stage, of knowing what’s true and what isn’t, which is absurd with the amount of money in play.
That it’s basically come down to a ‘he said / she said’ slanging match between politicians is embarrassing for the city - it reminds me of trying to sort out playground disputes as a teacher.
I’m not clued up enough about how things are now, but you’d hope it had cleaned up, even marginally.
I’ll reserve judgement about Joe. I imagine the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
I personally can’t help but feel sorry for Joe. He definitely did some great things for the city, especially with the rebuilding of just about every school in the city. I just feel if there was any evidence of wrong doing surely they would have charged him by now? It sounds like he’s having a really tough time and has been left in limbo. I don’t feel he really deserves that. As for the police, either bring charges or drop the case, you can’t just ruin a life by claiming there’s an issue and then seemingly do nothing! Great article, nice to hear from the horses mouth rather than an Echo reporters guesswork and personal opinion!
A very interesting article. For the record, Mr. Anderson was not "re-elected as Mayor of Liverpool in 2020 with 94% of the vote." He did secure the local Labour party's nomination to seek a third term that year, but the election was postponed until 2021 because of the pandemic.
Wisest move he's ever made: Stopping going to Everton games. His story reads like one of those days when you come back home and moan that every other driver was going the wrong way on the motorway, until you realise it was you.
I think it needs to be said that the delay in bringing the whole sorry saga to a conclusion isn't fair on anybody who is being investigated, particularly in light of the family issues Anderson has had to deal with over the last couple of years.
In the interview I got the impression that he was not only trying deperately to convince the public of his innocence, but himself as well. He seems totally oblivious to the fact that he has dragged the name of the city through the mud at a national level, and apparently none of it was his fault.
He is living proof of the potential problems of giving an individual so much power, leading to circumventing of contractual procedure to get what (and who) he wanted in position.
The claim that he didn't know about his son's involvement in the flyover contract is laughable. He was somebody who prided himself on knowing about everything that was going on, particularly major contracts.
When Joe stood for election as mayor, he made a big promise not to take the full salary - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-18082788. The Private Eye later revealed he did in fact claim the full salary from day one. By 2018 the Liverpool Echo seemed to be aware of this, as they mention his salary in a longer piece, but they never thought it worth while asking him about it.
He's an incredibly dishonest man, and he's been enabled and promoted by a compliant local press. If there had been an iota of scrutiny instead of scrambling to publish his every thought on how Everton performed on the pitch, it's likely the city wouldn't be in the horrendous mess it's now in.
There is a sizable number of people in this city that know exactly what has been happening on all levels of the local administration in the last fifty years or more and those Tory-appointed 'commissioners' are still feeling their way around in semi darkness not knowing exactly what they're up against. Then again, with the kind of money they're being paid to investigate, the digging can go on forever as far as they are concern. Joe, being the last of a long line of overseers of a long-running debacle( putting it mildly) and naturally aggrieved at being the one holding the can, is faced with the Shakespearian dilemma of 'to talk or not to talk'. Pressure is currently building in some areas of the ongoing enquiry by people who know their job and sooner of later people of this city will get to know a lot more.
The biggest question is why is one of the main cities in one of the richest countries on earth STILL one of the poorest, and its people blamed for their own situation. Plenty of money for war.
Forget the arrests, the Caller report, the many questions and various connections. No one needs to speculate or wait for a court case to know the facts about St John's market, the futurist, (nearly) Sefton Park meadows, and of course the zip wire episodes, and so much more besides.
Driving around the city as if there is so much to be proud of? Do one.
I'm also a "Swanite" but left the Best City In The World (work reasons) before I was old enough to vote, so I never had the opportunity to vote for Joe or any other Labour politician.
Your phrase about "Guilty until PROVEN Innocent" as applied to Joe Anderson describes the injustice of the whole sordid affair. WHY are the police STILL "investigating" allegations made THREE YEARS AGO? With your "Mr. Average" there would have been screams of harassment and discrimination long ago ... and look at who has the hatchet / AK47 in his hand, leading the 'prosecution' ... Grant Schnapps (Govt 'expert' in tossing away large amounts of public money) and a nobody called Max Caller from a dusty back office who has already disappeared back where he came from, having been paid £6000 a month for three years while doing nothing ... when Joe 'drew a line' under the bill @ £425million which the city had been entitled to but never received wasn't a day too soon. The "managed decline" Thatcher fondly imagined for Liverpool is still being sculpted by today's Tory Government, and I cannot see any improvement if(when!) Keir Starmer's Labour party replace them
First time I have read this. I knew of its existence but even the words Joe Anderson reminded me of a horrid period serving as a city Cllr. I really liked Joe, for a long long time I thought he was doing the very best for the city. But I’m also a firm believer that you are judged on the company you keep - and Joes integrity, for me started to dwindle when he was giving people (Cllrs) paid roles for which they were not qualified or even good at. I started to wonder if he was as good as I thought he was? Surely no one would keep backing a dead horse, but Joe kept on. Yes, he was always full of his own self importance, but as Mayor of this city we needed a strong leader, not afraid to challenge Whitehall, but we also needed him to listen to the wider council group, and not just the desperate hangers on clinging to extra paid roles to fund their expensive addictions or numerous holidays. Those “disciples” who just told him what he wanted to hear. This is why there is so much hatred from Joe for the likes of Nick Small and Ann OByrne. They opposed his view if they didn’t agree with it. Others didn’t do that. Do I believe Joe has been treated fairly? No. 2 years later and still he is left in limbo. His reputation in tatters and an ongoing investigation that must be a constant drain on his wellbeing. I don’t wish that kind of thing on anyone. Joe has far more good in him than bad. But when I needed Joes help he refused it. And I can not forgive that. He has since shown himself to be quite nasty in his remarks about fellow cllrs, and it’s distasteful. Make no mistake, Joe has been nasty towards me, and I do feel a bit of disdain hearing of his love of prayer books and his faith because his actions don’t mirror his faith. But as he said, hindsight is a wonderful thing. I hope he does get an outcome from the ongoing investigation soon. I don’t care what he thinks of me, and I never will again, but for me, kindness is the best route to happiness and I’m happy to be out of that council chamber and away from the toxicity of Joes former clingers on. They allowed him the go unquestioned for as long as he did, and that was his undoing.
What strikes me throughout this whole article is the absolute opacity of our local democracy. There seems to be no real way, at this stage, of knowing what’s true and what isn’t, which is absurd with the amount of money in play.
That it’s basically come down to a ‘he said / she said’ slanging match between politicians is embarrassing for the city - it reminds me of trying to sort out playground disputes as a teacher.
I’m not clued up enough about how things are now, but you’d hope it had cleaned up, even marginally.
I’ll reserve judgement about Joe. I imagine the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Great article.
I personally can’t help but feel sorry for Joe. He definitely did some great things for the city, especially with the rebuilding of just about every school in the city. I just feel if there was any evidence of wrong doing surely they would have charged him by now? It sounds like he’s having a really tough time and has been left in limbo. I don’t feel he really deserves that. As for the police, either bring charges or drop the case, you can’t just ruin a life by claiming there’s an issue and then seemingly do nothing! Great article, nice to hear from the horses mouth rather than an Echo reporters guesswork and personal opinion!
One of the real scandals here is how long this investigation is taking. If they have evidence, it should be out in the open.
A very interesting article. For the record, Mr. Anderson was not "re-elected as Mayor of Liverpool in 2020 with 94% of the vote." He did secure the local Labour party's nomination to seek a third term that year, but the election was postponed until 2021 because of the pandemic.
Wisest move he's ever made: Stopping going to Everton games. His story reads like one of those days when you come back home and moan that every other driver was going the wrong way on the motorway, until you realise it was you.
I think it needs to be said that the delay in bringing the whole sorry saga to a conclusion isn't fair on anybody who is being investigated, particularly in light of the family issues Anderson has had to deal with over the last couple of years.
In the interview I got the impression that he was not only trying deperately to convince the public of his innocence, but himself as well. He seems totally oblivious to the fact that he has dragged the name of the city through the mud at a national level, and apparently none of it was his fault.
He is living proof of the potential problems of giving an individual so much power, leading to circumventing of contractual procedure to get what (and who) he wanted in position.
The claim that he didn't know about his son's involvement in the flyover contract is laughable. He was somebody who prided himself on knowing about everything that was going on, particularly major contracts.
Excellent article Jack.
When Joe stood for election as mayor, he made a big promise not to take the full salary - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-18082788. The Private Eye later revealed he did in fact claim the full salary from day one. By 2018 the Liverpool Echo seemed to be aware of this, as they mention his salary in a longer piece, but they never thought it worth while asking him about it.
He's an incredibly dishonest man, and he's been enabled and promoted by a compliant local press. If there had been an iota of scrutiny instead of scrambling to publish his every thought on how Everton performed on the pitch, it's likely the city wouldn't be in the horrendous mess it's now in.
There is a sizable number of people in this city that know exactly what has been happening on all levels of the local administration in the last fifty years or more and those Tory-appointed 'commissioners' are still feeling their way around in semi darkness not knowing exactly what they're up against. Then again, with the kind of money they're being paid to investigate, the digging can go on forever as far as they are concern. Joe, being the last of a long line of overseers of a long-running debacle( putting it mildly) and naturally aggrieved at being the one holding the can, is faced with the Shakespearian dilemma of 'to talk or not to talk'. Pressure is currently building in some areas of the ongoing enquiry by people who know their job and sooner of later people of this city will get to know a lot more.
The biggest question is why is one of the main cities in one of the richest countries on earth STILL one of the poorest, and its people blamed for their own situation. Plenty of money for war.
Ufff. The exclusive no one wanted to read.
Forget the arrests, the Caller report, the many questions and various connections. No one needs to speculate or wait for a court case to know the facts about St John's market, the futurist, (nearly) Sefton Park meadows, and of course the zip wire episodes, and so much more besides.
Driving around the city as if there is so much to be proud of? Do one.
I'm also a "Swanite" but left the Best City In The World (work reasons) before I was old enough to vote, so I never had the opportunity to vote for Joe or any other Labour politician.
Your phrase about "Guilty until PROVEN Innocent" as applied to Joe Anderson describes the injustice of the whole sordid affair. WHY are the police STILL "investigating" allegations made THREE YEARS AGO? With your "Mr. Average" there would have been screams of harassment and discrimination long ago ... and look at who has the hatchet / AK47 in his hand, leading the 'prosecution' ... Grant Schnapps (Govt 'expert' in tossing away large amounts of public money) and a nobody called Max Caller from a dusty back office who has already disappeared back where he came from, having been paid £6000 a month for three years while doing nothing ... when Joe 'drew a line' under the bill @ £425million which the city had been entitled to but never received wasn't a day too soon. The "managed decline" Thatcher fondly imagined for Liverpool is still being sculpted by today's Tory Government, and I cannot see any improvement if(when!) Keir Starmer's Labour party replace them
First time I have read this. I knew of its existence but even the words Joe Anderson reminded me of a horrid period serving as a city Cllr. I really liked Joe, for a long long time I thought he was doing the very best for the city. But I’m also a firm believer that you are judged on the company you keep - and Joes integrity, for me started to dwindle when he was giving people (Cllrs) paid roles for which they were not qualified or even good at. I started to wonder if he was as good as I thought he was? Surely no one would keep backing a dead horse, but Joe kept on. Yes, he was always full of his own self importance, but as Mayor of this city we needed a strong leader, not afraid to challenge Whitehall, but we also needed him to listen to the wider council group, and not just the desperate hangers on clinging to extra paid roles to fund their expensive addictions or numerous holidays. Those “disciples” who just told him what he wanted to hear. This is why there is so much hatred from Joe for the likes of Nick Small and Ann OByrne. They opposed his view if they didn’t agree with it. Others didn’t do that. Do I believe Joe has been treated fairly? No. 2 years later and still he is left in limbo. His reputation in tatters and an ongoing investigation that must be a constant drain on his wellbeing. I don’t wish that kind of thing on anyone. Joe has far more good in him than bad. But when I needed Joes help he refused it. And I can not forgive that. He has since shown himself to be quite nasty in his remarks about fellow cllrs, and it’s distasteful. Make no mistake, Joe has been nasty towards me, and I do feel a bit of disdain hearing of his love of prayer books and his faith because his actions don’t mirror his faith. But as he said, hindsight is a wonderful thing. I hope he does get an outcome from the ongoing investigation soon. I don’t care what he thinks of me, and I never will again, but for me, kindness is the best route to happiness and I’m happy to be out of that council chamber and away from the toxicity of Joes former clingers on. They allowed him the go unquestioned for as long as he did, and that was his undoing.