The arguments for Liverpool's mayoralty — and why the Caller report was 'sexed-up'

We speak to Professor Michael Parkinson about Liverpool's political crisis and its economic future

Dear Post members — the big story in Liverpool today is the one we previewed in our briefing on Monday: the scrapping — or non-scrapping — of the city’s mayoral position. When we came to you on Monday, the notion that voters might not get their promised referendum mayoralty was not being confirmed by the city council, not being reported by the Echo and was based purely on the reporting of a well-connected freelance journalist called Matt O'Donoghue.

Well, he was right. Last night, Liverpool’s mayor Joanne Anderson publicly backed a much cheaper option — a public consultation, telling BBC Radio Merseyside she that she wants the exercise to be “meaningful”. Rather confusingly, she then added: “It can’t be a tick box exercise. That’s why we want it to be a poll. It’s a clear yes-or-no result and everyone has a chance to have a say.”

So should the city have a mayor elected by voters, or go back to having a council leader like the other local authorities in the city region? “I’d like to see…