A DEBATE is under way to look at whether the term Merseyside should be ditched and replaced with a more Liverpool-centred name for the region.

Possible titles being considered by political and business leaders include Liverpool City Region and Greater Liverpool.

It is thought that the other Merseyside authorities would benefit from being associated with the Liverpool brand - which is recognised worldwide - especially in the light of the Capital of Culture win.

The debate comes after the Mersey Partnership, the body responsible for promoting the region in the UK and throughout the world, has decided to review its name.

Roy Morris, chairman of the Mersey Partnership, believes highlighting the Liverpool label will benefit businesses from St Helens to West Kirby.

Wirral, Sefton and Knowsley would still retain their own identities but they would be part of the new title, rather than Merseyside.

Mr Morris said: "I personally believe the partnership should seriously consider its name and branding.

"This is a debate which we are having at the moment but the private sector is strongly in favour of some kind of branding under the Liverpool umbrella.

"When someone in Boston thinks of our area they think of Liverpool not Merseyside.

"You no longer talk of Tyneside, you talk of Newcastle, and the same can be said for Bristol and Avonmouth and Birmingham and the West Midlands."

The Mersey Partnership last month launched its tourism strategy for the "Liverpool City Region."

The initiative aims to improve tourism by 2015, including the re-invention of Southport into a classic resort, the promotion of the region's "golf coast" and creating a booming Wirral waterfront.

Liverpool council leader Mike Storey admitted the debate was politically sensitive but said tourist attractions across the region would benefit if they marketed themselves under the Liverpool brand.

He said: "If you have a successful brand then why not flaunt it? There would be more attraction for foreign visitors to come to the Knowsley Safari Park, within the Liverpool region, than to come to the Knowsley Safari Park in Knowsley.

"Of course it is important for other authorities to come on board and not feel as if it is being imposed."

Dave Martin, leader of Sefton Council, said: "All the authorities will benefit from people promoting Liverpool abroad.

"Places like Southport can also have strong brands. When the golf comes to Southport, its brand should be pushed in the same way."

Ian Smith, Liberal Democrat opposition leader at Knowsley Council, said the picture was very complicated in Knowsley.

He said: "It all depends on where you live. People in Kirkby look to Liverpool while people in Prescot look very much to Lancashire.

"Huyton was always part of Lancashire but I think a lot of people look to Liverpool, as they do in Halewood. It all comes down to heritage and tradition.

The North West Development Agency, which distributes Government money to the region, has identified what is describes as four "attack brands" which are the strongest brands for the region.

Peter Mearns, NWDA director of marketing, said: "We have identified Liverpool, Manchester, the Lake District and Chester as the most important brands to be promoted across the UK.

"Liverpool is what I would call the sizzle that sells the sausage. Other areas around these brands - like the wider Merseyside area - will benefit from this branding."

Liverpool Chamber of Commerce policy specialist Sara Williams said firms across the region used the Liverpool name to improve their image overseas.

She said: "Liverpool itself has a very strong name and Merseyside companies use that when they sell exports and talk to foreign companies."

Development expert Tony Siebenthaler said: "Merseyside is an utterly anonymous and negative brand. What does Merseyside mean to someone in Texas or California?

"At the end of the day only Southport and St Helens have their own strong identities in the Merseyside region.

"As for Wirral, people have always asked whether it is the posh bit of Liverpool or the back-end of Cheshire."

The move has been criticised by Wirral's Conservative leader, Jeff Green, who believes the peninsula has more affinity with Cheshire than Liverpool.

He said: "If you look in the past problems from Liverpool have crossed the river. Militant in particular did untold damage in Wirral.

"I obviously back Liverpool as the Capital of Culture but think being called Greater Liverpool would lead to unnecessary arguments."