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There was outrage today after the Liverpool branch of the Conservative party suggested people in the city need to ‘move on’ from the damage done to the city by the Tory government in the 1980s.

And people are equally angry at claims by the Tories that Liverpool is a city “on the up, thanks to the policies of this Conservative Government”.

The comments were made by Sean Malkeson, deputy chairman of the Liverpool Conservatives, as he announced that his party would field candidates for all 31 available seats at May’s Liverpool Council elections.

His comments have been met with derision and anger from rival politicians who witnessed the effects that Margaret Thatcher ’s ruling party had on the city.

Official government papers have revealed that senior Tory ministers lobbied for Liverpool to be abandoned to a fate of ‘managed decline’ following the Toxteth riots of 1981.

Labour ’s Assistant Mayor Nick Small was a child in Liverpool in the 1980s. He said: “Growing up in Liverpool in the 1980s, I saw first hand the devastating effects of Thatcherism on Liverpool. Our city is still paying the price for the Tory legacy of managed decline, mass unemployment and disinvestment.

“And today, despite all the achievements of a Labour Council building 23 new schools and bringing jobs and apprenticeships, our city is suffering from Tory austerity.

“The Liverpool Tories may well be fielding 31 candidates but Liverpool people aren’t soft. Not one Tory will get elected here.”

Someone else who witnessed first hand the struggles of the city in the 1980s was Walton MP Dan Carden .

He said: “The Tories cannot run away from their shameful record in Liverpool.

“This is the party that discussed a “managed decline” of our city in the 80s, who destroyed industry and job opportunities. They are living in a fantasy land if they think Thatcher’s name is anything but loathed on our streets.

“I was born in the 80s, grew up in a family affected by unemployment and my early life was shaped by the poverty inflicted by 13 years of Tory attacks on our city.

“Labour investment turned the city around after 1997. But make no mistake, Labour is focused on the future and a socialist Labour Government led by Jeremy Corbyn, which will fundamentally improve the lives of the people I represent, and which the people of Liverpool voted for in droves at the last election.”

Mr Carden said he was out with police in Walton last week, adding that the rise in violent crime on the streets of Liverpool is one of the ‘grim consequences’ of austerity, which he said has seen “ideological cuts to frontline services – our schools, our hospitals, children’s services, social care – at the same time as the Government has handed tax giveaways to the very richest and biggest corporations”.

He added: “Instead of this laughable attempt to re-write history, the Tories should face up to the damage they have caused to our city and working class-communities across the country.

“Only Labour will provide the investment we need, properly fund a rich network of public services and unlock the power and potential of our communities.

“This election is a chance to send the Tories a message: after eight years of cuts, failed privatisations and falling living standards, it’s time for real change.”

Mr Malkeson’s comments came after reports that the Conservatives were so short of numbers for May’s elections, that they had been knocking on doors in Liverpool looking for candidates.

The Tories have dismissed that assertion as ‘fake news’.

Mr Malkeson said: “There have been groundless ‘fake news’ stories about Conservative candidates in the city, which are completely untrue.

“We have fielded a ‘full slate’ of candidates for many years in the city Council Elections and will do so again. In reporting these stories, it was unfortunate that the Echo then quoted “a Labour source” talking about the 1980s.

“While Labour want to talk about the 1980s, the Conservative Party in Liverpool wants to talk about the present – and what we will do if we are elected in 2018.

He said: “Many of our council candidates weren’t even born in the 1980s! It’s time that Momentum and the Labour Party in Liverpool moves on!

“Liverpool is on the up, thanks to the policies of this Conservative Government and in the upcoming local elections, only the Conservative Party in Liverpool is focused on tackling the issues of today and creating a better future for all residents of every single council ward in our city.”