An Emergency Motion proposed by Green Party councillors for this Wednesday’s full council meeting calls on the council to use its nominated places on the ACC Board to block the arms fair planned for October 11-12.

Mayor Joanne Anderson has claimed that the council can’t interfere with bookings, despite precedents when a shooting exhibition and controversial performer were banned after being booked.

Now the Green Party motion warns that new developments show her stance threatens to damage the venue’s finances and have a knock-on impact on council taxpayers.

Green Councillor Lawrence Brown said: ‘This is information councillors didn’t have the last time the issue was discussed. It means that we have a duty to act not just to protect the reputation of our city as peace-loving, but council tax payers’ money.

‘The last time the council discussed this, the vast majority of councillors said they wanted this horrific arms bazaar blocked, but were told they couldn’t – the council claimed it didn’t have the legal power to decide who uses its venues.

‘Three things have changed since then. First, the council’s legal advice is being challenged in the courts. Second, bookings are being lost as performers and exhibitors refuse to be associated with this arms fair. Third, the strength of popular revulsion is growing every day.

‘If the council doesn’t act now, it will end up using council tax payers’ money to cover losses at the venue.’

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Text of the Emergency Motion proposed for the council meeting on Wednesday September 22:

Council considers that to proceed with a weapons convention on 11th – 12th October 2021, ACC Liverpool Ltd risks a substantial negative impact on the Council’s budget through the withdrawal of future business; this would likely mean that the Council, as sole owner of the company, would have to cover any budget shortfall by ACC Liverpool Ltd.

Already, the band Massive Attack have cancelled their booking of the venue and there have been statements in the media by the National Education Union and National Union of Students to confirm that they are considering their positions with regard to future bookings. More organisations may well follow if the weapons convention is not cancelled.

Council believes that the directors of ACC Liverpool Ltd should have taken account of this budgetary impact in any deliberations as to whether to proceed with the weapons convention. In addition, Council believes that, contrary to the previous advice which was the basis of the Mayor’s motion to the Council meeting held on 21st July 2021, there is an opportunity provided by clause 13.2 of the ACC Liverpool Ltd Articles of Association for the Council to have a direct impact on the management of the ACC Liverpool Ltd by dismissing the directors and replacing them with new appointments opposed to the weapons convention.

Council confirms its opposition to the weapons convention for the following reasons:

1) Damage to the reputation of the Council, which is now seen as allowing a platform for weapons companies like Raytheon and Elbit – amongst many others – which are complicit with human rights abuses.

2) Damage to ACC Liverpool through the loss of other contracts in direct

response to the Arms Fair, including the cancelled Massive Attack concert,

and the possible loss of union and political conferences. The Council will end up

subsidising these losses.

3) Damage to community relations, particularly for people directly

affected by the wars which are supplied by the companies which will attend

the weapons convention. By failing to act when it has the power to do so, the

Council is giving these communities the message that they don’t actually

care what happens to their friends and families, when bombs, missiles,

drones, are supplied and then deployed in war.

Council therefore requests the Chief Executive to take the necessary steps to remove the directors of the ACC from their positions and to appoint new directors who commit to cancelling the weapons convention and pledge to never again booking such an event at the ACC.

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The campaign was framed by the horrors of Covid and the restrictions that imposed on public activities.

Green Group leader councillor Tom Crone said: ‘Our campaigns are rooted in our communities and are people-driven. That means getting out, meeting people, mixing, getting things done collectively.

‘We haven’t been able to that so much in the last year and that favours the machine politics of the big parties who have more money to spend and higher media profiles.

‘It’s unfortunate, but we have to work so much harder to get the seats because of a first-past-the-post voting system that doesn’t treat voters equally.

‘Even so, we have given Labour a real fright in their heartlands of Wavertree and Greenbank, retained our seat in St Michaels where Sarah Jennings was stepping down after 13 years and made our presence felt in every ward.’

In the wider Liverpool City Region Mayoral election, Green candidate Gary Cargill pushed the party’s share of the vote up by 7 percentage points and took third place ahead of the Lib Dems. Indeed, the Green Party made gains in four of the six Liverpool City Region councils.

Cllr Crone said: ‘We had amazing candidates in Liverpool, not least Steph Pitchers who stepped into the shoes of Green councillor Sarah Jennings, stepping down after 13 years of service.’

Steph Pitchers said: ‘Thank you so much to all the support I’ve had. Now the real hard work begins.’

Cllr Crone also pointed to Dan Fieldsend in Greenbank, David Morgan in Wavertree and a vibrant and energetic first-time effort in Everton from Kevin Robinson-Hale.’

Dan Fieldsend pointed to a short campaign to build up support across the ward that left him second to the Labour candidate, but added: ‘If each Green can influence small changes in our local societies, then we’ll do wonders for the wider world.’

In Wavertree, David Morgan leapfrogged the Lib Dem candidate into second place, and doubled the Green vote. He said: ‘I’ve clearly tapped into a desire here for an alternative to the machine politics of Labour and it is up to the Green Party to work with residents on the issues that really matter to them and are not being addressed.’

Kevin Robinson-Hale, who quit Labour to run for the Green Party in Everton, said: ‘I came in third, 15 votes behind our councillor of more than 30 years. Thank you to everyone that helped.’

Cllr Crone, whose vote in the City Mayor contest was squeezed by the emergence of the Independent candidate running Labour’s Joanne Anderson to a second round, added: ‘Across the city wards, the Green vote increased slightly from 2019 – 13.4% to 14%.

‘It is disappointing that it was not higher, but given the unique circumstances in the run up to voting, I still believe we have firm foundations from which to campaign in the future.

‘Labour shouldn’t believe that they have escaped the fallout from their mismanagement of the council over the last 10 years. Many of the councillors who benefitted from supporting or not opposing the Joe Anderson regime and the bullying, intimidation and dubious deals associated with it are still there.

‘The Caller report has to be implemented and the Labour Party must face up to its responsibilities for the crisis we are now in.

‘We will be standing up for those who believe we need a clean break and a fresh start that puts people’s well-being and the environment first, not covering up for past mistakes.’

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