Frank McKenna has told business leaders, and the wider Liverpool community, to support metro mayor Steve Rotheram in his ambition to attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the city region – and encourage rather than criticise city leaders when they undertake international visits.
Following some push back against Rotheram’s recent trip to the United States, McKenna said:
“I am genuinely flabbergasted at some of the small-minded, shortsighted comments that I have seen from a vocal minority, who have suggested that our mayor should not be going abroad to represent Liverpool and the city region.
“A big part of the mayor’s job is to be our champion and ambassador abroad. He needs to be meeting other international mayors, leaders, and more importantly international entrepreneurs and investors. You cannot do that in a meaningful way on a Zoom call.
“Steve Rotheram needs to be face-to-face, selling our city to those investors, promoting brand Liverpool, and building on our strong international reputation.
“DIB operates across the country, and I can honestly say that political and business delegations abroad don’t get anywhere near the scrutiny in those other cities as the few trips that Steve Rotheram makes get. It is toy town politics, and if we are not careful, it will hinder our ambitions to grow the economy in the city region.
“An attitude that suggest that the mayor and our city leaders should operate within the boundaries of Liverpool, St Helens, Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, and Wirral – with the odd trip to London thrown in – makes us look small, provincial, and unambitious.
McKenna added:
“Despite what some people may think, these trips abroad are not ‘jollies’ – they are bloody hard work. I have seen the mayors schedule from when he was in the States – it was gruelling. Instead of getting on his back, we should have his back, and I urge all business leaders to publicly express their support for Steve in his ambitions – and the actions required to meet those ambitions – of significantly increasing FDI into Liverpool.”
The Downtown boss did have one line of criticism of the mayor though.
“Steve tells me that he travelled economy. That is a joke. On a seven hour plus flight, I want our mayor to be comfortable, able to work on his phone or laptop, and arrive in his destination as fresh as he can possibly be. I will be writing to local authority leaders and chief executives and asking them to improve his travel conditions in the future.
“When he secures his first multi-million-pound deal – and he will – I hope those who are moaning about his American ‘jaunt’ are big enough to apologise and eat humble pie.”
Downtown in Business hosted an exclusive Leaders Lunch with Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram at the Crowne Plaza on Wednesday afternoon, where the chief executive and group chair of DIB, Frank McKenna, quizzed him about inward investment, the skills agenda, net zero, transport, and economic growth. The full interview will feature in an upcoming TFI bulletin.
