Mike Ross's 20-year journey from country's youngest councillor to Hull leader

It has been a long road back to power for the Liberal Democrats in Hull - a fact nobody knows better than Mike Ross.

Since losing control of the council in 2011, the Liberal Democrats have had to gradually chip away at the Labour majority on the local authority over a period of years and finally won back control in this May’s local elections.

It has been a long process that Ross, who became a councillor at the age of just 21 when he was still at university and has been the party’s group leader since 2015, has been central to.

Ross says that after such a hard slog to take control of the local authority, he is determined to make the most of the opportunity but is also keen not to make promises that can’t be delivered.

“We’re very thankful to the people who put their faith and trust in us to run this council,” he says.

“I recognise what a tremendous challenge but also what a privilege that is to take on. There was a real sense that people wanted change.

“We are trying to deliver that change for the city but in a sensible way.

“There hasn’t been a lot of big announcements from this administration, we have been very measured in terms of what we are announcing.

“But we have set out our stall on some of the big issues that have been affecting the city over the last couple of years, such as roads and highways issues.”

He says another aim is the important but more intangible idea of changing the way the council operates so it works in better partnership with local organisations and residents.

“What the council does is important, but so is the way it does it,” he says.

“We’re very clear we want to actually change the type of organisation we are - listening to what the community from residents to businesses are actually saying to the council and recognising and respecting their voices. It is also about being clear that we can’t always do everything asked.

“That as a big change for us as an organisation but one we are really keen to make happen.”

As part of this new approach, the latest edition of the council’s Love Hull magazine includes a ‘Tell Mike’ questionnaire where they can explain what they think the local authority can do to help them personally as well as in their neighbourhood, as well as explaining what they perceive to be the biggest issue facing the city.

He says part of the new approach will be identifying where small practical changes can be made by the council that can make a substantial difference to people’s lives. Ross says one example of this includes looking at how to speed up the process of issuing birth certificates so new parents can claim child benefit more quickly.

“It is just making sure processes work well enough to actually help and it seems small but those small little changes can make a big difference.”

But in May, Ross announced his intention to tackle a much bigger and thornier issue - that of “gridlock” congestion on the city’s roads. He said he intended to hold an “emergency roads summit” on the issue, with residents’ views being sought via a city-wide survey beforehand.

Ross says: “Roads is a big challenge for us and it has been left for this administration to tackle. In our view, a lot of this goes back to how things were done by the previous administration and we are wanting to change that approach. We do want to hear what people have to say about the city’s roads. This is not about coming in with an agenda of our own to make changes, we want to work with the city to deliver a roads system that does the job for everybody.

“It is the sort of area where you are not going to please everybody but at least you will give everybody the opportunity to have their say.”

He says the public surveys are being finalised now and then the roads summit is due to take place in September.

Ross says another clear message from the public has been a demand for cleaner streets in the city. He says while like every council, Hull faces budgeting challenges he intends to ensure that such issues are prioritised as much as possible.

“We obviously want to see the council move in line with what the people of the city’s priorities are,” he says.

Ross says he believes that the promised change in approach is part of the reasons why the Lib Dems have been voted back into power.

“There was an arrogance at times from the previous administration that not only did they not listen but they were dismissive at times of what was being put to them,” he claims.

“We might not always agree with what people are saying to us and might not always do what they want us to do but we will respect the views and opinions given to us and will want an intelligent and rational debate with people rather than simply being dismissed out of hand.”

Ross was just 21 when first elected and believes that at the time he was the UK’s youngest councillor.

He says it was a “baptism of fire” as he was a student when elected and the Lib Dems also took control of the local authority in that year.

While Ross has stood unsuccessfully for Parliament four times, he says he is happy now in his current role.

“In many ways I know I can get a lot more done as leader of the council than as a backbench MP. I’m not driven by power but I recognise this gives me a lot more responsibility.”

Ross says he is determined to make the most of his party’s new position in power.

“I’m not here just for the grandeur of having a nice office in the Guildhall. I’m very aware we’ve been elected to make a real change for the city and that is our mission.”

Devolution deal 'doesn't need a mayor'

Mike Ross says he is keen to secure a devolution deal for Hull - but agrees with current plans that there should be no elected mayor as part of the plan.

Prior to the local elections, then-Labour run Hull and Tory-led East Riding Council had put forward plans for a joint devolution agreement that did not include a new mayor - unlike the existing situation in South and West Yorkshire and the plan for York and North Yorkshire.

He says: “There have been various iterations of some sort of deal. We’re very keen to get this progressed because we recognise the benefits a devolution deal would bring to the city but at the same time we don’t want to do it at any cost.

“It has to be one that works for the city with clear articulate benefits.”

On the idea of a mayor he says: “Certainly for us while we are happily hear people’s views on the idea, there is an unease that as Liberal Democrats we’ve never been particularly keen on something that concentrates power in the hands of one individual. I think there would have to be a strong case made.”

Ross insists the stance is not driven by any strategic concern that any mayor could be from a different political party.

“For us it is more a philosophical issue that would have to be addressed.

“Mayors are a misnomer, they are more like an economic lead for an area, they are not like US mayors. It is a very different concept and the terminology has not helped.”

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