Cllr Liam Robinson said there was a “real defining line” between Labour and Nigel Farage’s party
Leader of Liverpool City Council Liam Robinson(Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)
The leader of Liverpool Council has taken aim at Reform UK after the local authority agreed to extend its management of two city care homes. In the summer of 2024, the city council was forced to step in to save sites in Speke and Anfield after the regional NHS operator said it could not offer permanent provisions.
The council initially took interim control of Brushwood and Millvina care homes after Southport-based Bloomcare indicated it would cease its operation. Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust advised it could not offer its services any longer than a three-month extension.
Now, with Liverpool Council securing a long-term deal for the future of the homes, Cllr Liam Robinson took aim at the Reform-led Lancashire Council, which only last month bowed to months of public pressure and u-turned on its decision to close care homes. The Liverpool Labour leader said the move would have been “callous”.
The two sites in Speke and Anfield opened in 2019 and became the first city council-built homes for 25 years. Bloomcare, which took over the homes when they were threatened with closure in 2021, indicated it no longer wished to run the homes and gave notice to end its contract.
The homes provided an initial 60 beds, to much fanfare by then Mayor Joe Anderson, with Liverpool Council retaining ownership of the £8m buildings. They faced an uncertain future in 2020 when initial operator Shaw Healthcare said it could no longer manage the sites, as they proved to be financially unviable.
Upon Bloomcare’s contract ceasing, the council, working alongside NHS partners, became the registered provider of the homes, providing continuity of care for the residents and stability for staff employed at both homes. In September 2023, Millvina was pulled out of special measures, having been under investigation by the Care Quality Commission for 18 months.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage(Image: PA Wire)
Now, the city council has signed a five-year deal with its clinical partner PC24 to continue the running of the homes. There are hopes the number of residents could be increased to more than 100 in the next three months.
Confirming the move, Cllr Robinson said: “I’m really proud of this, and I think as a council we should be really proud of this. It’s a real tangible investment in our services in working-class communities.
“When the previous provider walked out on these homes, we did the focused thing, looked at our options and decided to step in.” The Kensington and Fairfield councillor said the decision taken by the local authority shows a “real dividing line” between his party and Reform.
He said: “When we were faced with this crisis, we did the right thing; we stepped in and have taken a really thorough, caring approach that I believe is the microcosm of what a national care service would look like. I think we’re about 11 miles as the crow flies from the border with Lancashire, a Reform-led council which was very overt in its intention to shut care homes.
“While they might have backed away from that, the mask clearly slipped, and for me that shows a real, clear dividing line politically that exists in this country of the Labour Party, in this council, working with this government doing things properly, compared to Reform, who quite frankly, callously would want to shut things like this down.”
The ECHO contacted Reform UK for comment.
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