Elected mayors – of value or a distraction?

Andy Burnham’s new mantra of ‘Manchesterism’ has created a renewed focus on local government. The former mayor’s record has been poured over since his byelection win in June, with political operators and commentators looking for hints of what change the new prime minister could bring in across the UK.

Burnham himself would acknowledge that the transformation and economic success of the Manchester city region was not just as a result of having a mayor, but to the effective partnership across the ten councils involved and the devolution of powers from central government.

Similar claims of success have been made for the earliest combined authority elected mayors in Liverpool, the West Midlands and Tees Valley. Subsequently there have been more elected mayors in combined county authorities following referendums, the offer of devolved budgets and powers proving unmissable to previous sceptical local authorities.

Scotland has been moving in the opposite direction, with the added confusion of quangos

As a result, there have been calls for the introduction of elected mayors (or convenors) in Scotland as a means of replicating Manchester’s success. But before this idea takes root, we suggest that the time is now right to understand what these elected mayors actually do, what are their powers, and ask whether they really make a difference?

Local government redrawn

A local referendum is held to decide if an area wants an elected mayor. There are currently 27 elected mayors in England: fourteen as strategic authority mayors and the remainder are local authority mayors. Five of these city region mayors replicate the metropolitan counties that were abolished in 1986: Greater Manchester, West Midlands, Liverpool City Region, South Yorkshire, and West Yorkshire. The North East includes Sunderland, Northumberland and County Durham.

Many of the previous directly elected mayors in local authorities have been abolished and the English Devolution Act 2026 allows no further elected mayors for existing local authorities. In effect, the English local government map has been redrawn with the collaboration of existing councils by the simple expedient of devolving both powers and budgets.

Scotland has been moving in the opposite direction, with the added confusion of quangos that are beholden to the Scottish Government.

Unlike elected mayors, who have exclusive powers and co-decision powers, in Scotland power lies with the council. In other words, all elected members at this level. The council can formally delegate these powers and decision-making responsibilities to its committees, sub-committees, and officials, but never to one councillor. The idea of one person, albeit directly elected, having exclusive powers is currently not possible here.

What power?

Using Manchester as a case study, the elected mayor is responsible for the strategic governance of a number of local government services in the Greater Manchester area including combined health and social care services, transport, strategic planning, waste management, police, fire and rescue, housing and skills.

The mayor chairs the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) which comprises the political leaders of the area’s ten local authorities (Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Manchester, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan). Each of these councils continue to deliver the full range of council services in their areas.

Strategies for the above-named services are agreed at GMCA and implemented by each council. Clearly the quality of the working relationships between the mayor’s office and each of the ten leaders has been central to area’s success. Individual councils also have the power to veto any of the mayor’s proposals if two-thirds of their councillors agree.

Regional public transport is organised and delivered by the mayor’s office, albeit following agreement with constituent councils.

In Manchester’s case therefore the role of the mayor can be summarised as:

• Setting the policy direction of the GMCA and working with the ten councils and other partners to ensure implementation
• Delivering public transport in the Greater Manchester area
• Acting as the police and crime commissioner
• Acting as both a figurehead and ambassador for the Greater Manchester area

Advocates of injecting elected mayors/convenors into the Scottish system should note that following the Conservative government’s 1986 abolition of Greater Manchester Council, the ten councils established a Greater Manchester Combined Authority in 2011.

They have therefore been working across political, geographic and professional boundaries for fifteen years, the last nine with an elected mayor.   

Much of the emphasis on the area’s success is placed on the quality of the working relations between the council leaders the elected mayor. But that has also required equally good relations at working level, and many who work for local councils report how they are encouraged to “think Greater Manchester,” i.e. think regional, act local.

With that type of shared and focused approach being embraced by the employees of all the authorities over many years, it’s no surprise that this particular city region is a success.

Would a mayor make a difference?

In focusing on Manchester, the most successful city region outside London, it is evident that something special has been happening there for some considerable time.

The elected mayor, the area’s constituent councils, other local public bodies and voluntary organisations all operating with a pro- business approach have delivered much for the three million people living in Greater Manchester.

It leaves councils north of the border bereft of local innovation within an overbearing devolved government

On being elected mayor in 2017, Burnham joined a powerful organisation with a strong track record of joint working, with a cross organisational ethos. Arguably, because of this he has been able to promote and successfully develop his priorities over the past nine years.

In short, even a brief review of the GMCA experience suggests there is no certainty that parachuting elected mayors/convenors into the existing Scottish system would automatically lead to the type of economic success experienced by Greater Manchester. The transference of powers and funding from Whitehall to GMCA and others has been critical.

Further, during Angela Rayner’s initial tenure as the local government secretary in England she promoted legislation to dramatically alter the landscape of councils. It involved an offer to all councils of additional funding, functions and powers from Whitehall if they merged into a single combined authority. They would also require an elected mayor.

England is currently achieving a major reorganisation of local government at a pace and without the rancour that previous attempts to create unitary authorities has faced.

Yet in Scotland, the reverse process has been the case.  Arguably, it leaves councils north of the border bereft of local innovation within an overbearing devolved government.

A Scottish solution

Given Burnham’s commitment to devolve powers based on “a new set of principles and rules for the running of the British state”, we can expect more devolution to English city regions and combined counties.

Yet if a mayor/convenor were to be unilaterally introduced into the Scottish system, we believe that this would be pointless unless accompanied by a substantial simplification of the public sector in Scotland.

It would be more appropriate to establish a set of principles to enable the transition of powers and funding from Scottish Government departments and Scotland’s 134 quangos.

Scotland’s geography suggests that our future local authorities should be determined by spheres of influence ranging in population size, with scope for combining certain functions. Democratically accountable bodies that may, or may not, have elected mayors/convenors.

George Thorley is writing on behalf of the Mercat Group of former council chief executives / parliamentary returning officers (Bill Howat, Phil Jones, John Mundell, George Thorley, Gavin Whitefield, Keith Yates)