Leading a major city is no easy feat; it demands immense responsibility and a huge workload. Today, we’re focusing on a Labour Party politician who served as the Mayor of Liverpool from 2021 to 2023: Joanne Marie Anderson. Read more about Joanne Anderson’s political and personal life on the pages of liverpoolyes.com.
Education and Career
The future mayor was born in Liverpool in 1971. Notably, she left school at 16 with no formal qualifications. Despite this early start, Joanne went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Business Studies from Liverpool John Moores University.
She built a successful career as a specialist in equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), as well as a business consultant. She also spent over a decade working as a civil servant in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Additionally, Anderson has served as a trustee and advisor for several organisations, including Emmaus Merseyside (which provides work and accommodation for homeless people in the UK), the Merseyside Probation Service, and Merseyside Equality. In Princes Park, she worked as an advisor on the Education and Children’s Safeguarding Commission.
Anderson’s work doesn’t stop there. She is also a renowned advocate for the Black community. Joanne Anderson launched Liverpool’s first-ever Black-led social enterprise. She was also the driving force behind the ‘Liverpool Against Racism’ festival.
Joanne Anderson’s Mayoral Term
Joanne Anderson stood for the mayoral post as the Labour Party candidate. She won the election in 2021, securing the mayoralty with 59.2% of the vote in the second round. She made history as the first Black woman to be directly elected as a mayor in the UK. Anderson promised her constituents that she would work to end violence against women and girls in the city. Liverpool’s new leader also pledged to ensure transparent accountability.
Key achievements during Joanne Anderson’s time as mayor include:
- The ‘Triple Lock’ Commitment. During her tenure, she introduced the ‘Triple Lock’ approach, which centred people, the planet, and equality at the heart of every decision made. This meant that every council decision was scrutinised to ensure it delivered value for Liverpool residents.
- Community Asset Transfer Strategy. In June 2022, a “mass resolution” was approved, allowing council buildings and land to be leased at below-market rates in exchange for “social value” projects. This was designed to bring numerous vacant buildings and plots of land across the city back into productive use, benefiting both citizens and the city as a whole.
- The Eurovision Song Contest. Liverpool hosted the hugely popular Eurovision Song Contest during Joanne Anderson’s term. While the UK did not win Eurovision 2022—Ukraine was the winner, meaning the next contest should have been held there—the ongoing war meant that Liverpool was chosen as the host city for 2023. Anderson was instrumental in pushing Liverpool’s bid to secure host city status, recognising that Eurovision would attract tourists and generate significant revenue for the city’s budget. The ‘EuroFest’ programme offered grants of up to £2,000 to local Liverpool communities to participate in the celebrations. Ultimately, the contest boosted the Liverpool city region’s economy by £54.8 million.
- Strategy to Combat Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). As a mayoral candidate, Joanne Anderson promised to tackle violence against women in the city. She made progress on this pledge, with her team developing a comprehensive strategy to combat VAWG. She highlighted that in Liverpool alone, the police receive approximately 14,000 reports of domestic abuse annually.
Joanne Anderson also stood out for her stance on the controversial AOC arms fair held at the Liverpool Exhibition Centre. The event sparked protests across the city, and Anderson publicly voiced her opposition to the fair. However, as the event was agreed upon before she was elected mayor, the council was powerless to prohibit it from going ahead.
Joanne Anderson once described herself as a working-class, Black, single mother from Liverpool. In her youth, she felt she had little chance of achieving anything significant in life. Years later, however, Joanne Anderson became the first Black woman to be mayor not just of Liverpool, but of the entire United Kingdom. Did Anderson succeed in making a positive difference for the people and city of Liverpool? That’s a rhetorical question, and we encourage our readers to share their thoughts on social media.
We hope you found this article informative and learned more about the city you call home.