Authority Members

Appointment

At the time of the Annual Meetings of each of the five District Councils in May/June of each year, appointments are made to the Authority. Districts have the discretion to re-appoint existing Members or to replace them with other Members, subject to statutory requirements for political balance.

Appointments are also subject to the fulfilment of statutory notification periods, which in some circumstances require a notice of one month to be served prior to appointment yet in other circumstances allow for immediate appointment. Should, for whatever reason, an elected Member cease to be a Member of the District Council which appointed them, they automatically cease to be a Member of the Authority and it is for the District to nominate a replacement.

Once appointed each Member has a responsibility to the public of Merseyside as a whole and not just to the district from which they have been nominated.

Political Composition

Of the 18 elected Members of the Authority, 13 are Labour, 2 are Liberal Democrats, 1 is Green Party, 1 is Liverpool community independent and 1 is conservative.

The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 provides for the division of Members into political groups where appropriate notification is submitted to the Clerk. Not all of the seats on a Committee may be allocated to one Group and if one Group has a majority of the membership of the Authority, then that Group must have a majority of Members on each Committee.

Councillor
Councillor	Political party	District
Councillor Jeanette Banks Home mobile: 07874884678 Home: cllrjbanks@sthelens.gov.uk	Labour	St Helens MBC
Councillor Jeanie Bell Chair of Audit Committee Home mobile: 07740422767 Home: cllrjbell@sthelens.gov.uk	Labour	St Helens MBC
Councillor Leslie T. Byrom CBE Chair of the Authority Home: 01704574859 Home mobile: 07836621059 Home: leslie.byrom@councillors.sefton.gov.uk	Labour	Sefton Council
Councillor Edna Finneran Chair of Scrutiny Home mobile: 07557004147 Home: edna.finneran@knowsley.gov.uk	Labour	Knowsley
Councillor Sam Gorst Liverpool City Council c/o Minority Group Office, 6th floor, Cunard Building, Liverpool, L3 1AH Home mobile: 07597286500 Home: sam.gorst@liverpool.gov.uk	Liverpool Community Independents	Liverpool City Council
Councillor Janet Grace Vice Chair of the Authority and Chair of Community Safety and Protection Work: 0151 474 9931 Work: janet.grace@councillors.sefton.gov.uk	Labour	Sefton Council
Councillor Dave Hanratty Labour Group Office, Cunard Building, Liverpool, L31AH Home mobile: 0151 233 0420 Home: dave.hanratty2@liverpool.gov.uk	Labour	Liverpool City Council
Councillor Doreen Knight Home mobile: 0151 233 0420 Home: doreen.knight@liverpool.gov.uk	Labour	Liverpool City Council
Councillor Andrew Makinson Home mobile: 0151 233 0427 Home: Andrew.makinson@liverpool.gov.uk	Liberal Democrats	Liverpool City Council
Councillor Grahame McManus Wirral Home mobile: 07552 105606 Home: grahamemcmanus@wirral.gov.uk	Labour
Councillor Kieran Murphy Wirral Home: kieranmurphy@wirral.gov.uk	Green Party
Councillor Lynn O'Keeffe Home mobile: 07385420410	Labour	Knowsley
Councillor Chris Page Chair of Pension Board Home mobile: 01704 832807 Home: christopher.page@sefton.gov.uk	Labour	Sefton Council
Councillor Lesley Rennie Home: 01516448137 Home mobile: 07795450497 Work: lesleyrennie@wirral.gov.uk	Conservative	Wirral
Councillor James Roberts Vice-Chair of the Authority and Chair of Policy and Resources Labour Group Office, Municipal Buildings, Dale Street, Liverpool, L2 2DH Work: 0151 225 2366 Work: james.roberts2@liverpool.gov.uk	Labour	Liverpool City Council
Councillor Mike Sullivan Wirral Home mobile: 07584 207739 Home: mikesullivan@wirral.gov.uk	Labour
Councillor Lynne Thompson Opposition Spokesperson Home mobile: 07955 803814 Work: lynne.thompson@councillors.sefton.gov.uk	Liberal Democrats	Sefton Council
Councillor Heather Westhead Home: 0151 233 0420 Home mobile: 07745 206 797 Home: Heather.Westhead@liverpool.gov.uk	Labour	Liverpool City Council