Emily Spurrell has taken the official oath to start term as Merseyside's next Police and Crime Commissioner

EMILY Spurrell has taken her official Oath of Office, at a ceremony to mark the start of her term as Merseyside's new Police and Crime Commissioner. The Labour candidate and former Mossley Hill Councillor took 57% of the vote in last week's elections and was declared as Merseyside's 2nd Police Commissioner, at the Count, on Saturday, 8 May 2021, at the Liverpool Tennis Centre, in Wavertree. Emily will commence her term of office, which officially started on Thursday, 13 May 2021, by taking the Oath of Office. It will be witnessed by the Police Area Returning Office (PARO) Liverpool City Council Chief Executive Tony Reeves and officiated by the Chair of the Merseyside Bench of Magistrates JP Carmel Stewart. Merseyside Police's Chief Constable Serena Kennedy will also attend the short ceremony, at Merseyside Police Headquarters, at Canning Place. The oath is designed to provide a platform for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to set out publicly their commitment to serving with integrity. The declaration echoes the commitment Police Officers make to serve every member of the public impartially, while at the same time recognising the importance of the operational independence of the Police Service. It commits her to represent all sections of society, to work to cut criminal offences and to give a voice to victims of crime.

The Declaration of Acceptance of Office is also an important symbol of the Police Commissioner's open and transparent approach, and the aim of being truly accountable to the public. Emily said:- "I am honoured to make this public commitment to the people of Merseyside today as I officially start my term as the Region's Police Commissioner. Throughout my campaign, I have promised to be a visible and proactive Police Commissioner who focuses on the issues that matter most to local people and, in return, the public have given me their backing to do this important job for the next 3 years. I am committed to doing my very best to connect with local people, to represent their views on policing and community safety issues and be a champion for victims and our communities. This oath is an important commitment to acting with integrity and diligence in my role and I pledge to stand by each and every word of it throughout my three years in office. I can't wait to get started and I'm delighted to be joined by the Chief Constable Serena Kennedy here today as we start work together on our shared priorities to keep Merseyside safe."

Formby's Commemoration 100 years since the formation of the Royal British Legion

ON 15 May 1921, at 9am, 4 organisations joined together to form the British Legion. At the Whitehall Cenotaph, on that wet day watched by hundreds, 4 people, representing those organisations, laid wreaths to commemorate the formation of the Royal British Legion. They were:-

► The National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers.

► The National Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers.

► The Comrades of the Great War.

► The Officers Association.

On 15 April 2021 a hundred years later, at 9am, the ceremony was repeated at the Cenotaph. Legion Branches all over the country also commemorated this event on that day. Formby Royal British Branch commemorated this with a short ceremony at Formby War Memorial. Those who attended included Branch Vice Chairman Jenny Clarke. The Exhortation was given by Formby Branch President Barbara Butterwick, who also laid the wreath for Formby Branch. Joan Barton laid the wreath for Formby Women`s Section and the Kohima Epitaph was given by Michelle Miller the Vice Chairman of the Women`s Section. Branch Chairman and Standard Bearer Ken Ward carried the standard at the proceedings. Numbers were restricted for Covid Safety. You can see the short ceremony that was held at the Formby War Memorial in our video below:-

Metro Mayor Delivers ₤150m Covid Recovery Fund on Day 1

THE Liverpool City Region economy is set to benefit from a ₤150m Covid Recovery Fund Steve Rotheram announced on day 1 of his 2nd term as Metro Mayor. Speaking as he signed his acceptance of office as Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor, the Mayor said that the next tranche of the Combined Authority's devolved gain share funding would:- "form the bedrock of our Covid recovery fund." Steve Rotheram was resoundingly re-elected with an increased majority of over 132,000 on the 1st round of voting in Thursday's local elections, winning almost 60% of the vote across the Region and a majority in each of the 6 Local Authority area. In his election manifesto, Mayor Rotheram promised that he would secure ₤150m in funding from Government and use this to create a City Region Covid recovery fund to create jobs and support businesses as the Region emerges from the Pandemic. This new investment is expected to formally be confirmed by Government in the coming days.

Announcing the new funding, Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:- "I promised people that if they put their trust in me again, that I'd get to work straight away on rebuilding and improving our Region after Covid. I'm delighted say that after talks with Government we are set to receive this new funding for the City Region. This is new money that will help us get a jump start on our recovery ahead of the rest of the country, investing in projects that will power our economy and creating and safeguarding jobs, and delivering much needed hope to people and businesses across the Region. But this is just the start of my ambitions. This money will underpin hundreds of millions of pounds in investments from other funds from transport, to skills, to housing. I've just received an overwhelming mandate from the people of the Liverpool City Region and I'll be using it to press the Government to invest in our Economic Recovery Plan, which would deliver nearly ₤9bn of benefit to our Region and create over 120,000 jobs."