Twenty years ago Liverpool was a byword for confrontational politics. The city’s leftwing Labour council was at loggerheads with the national Conservative government and with the leadership of its own party.

While Liverpool’s forthright and rebellious streak will always have admirers in the city, most are glad that the ferocious clashes of those days are past. These days the city council – run now by the Liberal Democrat party – preaches a moderate, pro-business message.