Directly elected mayors in England

Local authority areas in England typically have an executive leader and a cabinet selected from the local council, similar to how the national prime minister and cabinet are selected from Parliament. In contrast, residents of some areas, or groups of areas known as combined authorities, directly elect the executive mayors of their local government.

Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson were directly elected mayors of London.

The first such political post was the mayor of London, created as the executive of the Greater London Authority in 2000 as part of a reform of the local government of Greater London. Since the Local Government Act 2000, all of the several hundred principal local councils in England and Wales have been required to review their executive arrangements. Mayors who are directly elected to cover combined authorities are informally known as metro mayors, as they typically cover metropolitan areas. Examples of metro mayors include the mayor of Greater Manchester and the mayor of the West Midlands.

Legislation on directly elected mayors applies both to England and Wales, but there are currently no directly elected mayors in Wales. As of May 2023, 14 council areas in England use the "mayor and cabinet" system. Most authorities with elected mayors already had a ceremonial mayor, and the latter role continues to exist.

History

Background

The system of elected mayors had been considered by the Major ministry, and the former Environment Secretary Michael Heseltine had been a proponent of it.^[1] The 1997 Labour manifesto included a commitment to reform local government in London by introducing an elected mayor.^[2]

Mayor of London

Main article: Mayor of London

The first directly elected mayor was introduced in Greater London in 2000 as part of the statutory provisions of the Greater London Authority Act 1999. The position of the elected Mayor of London is a strategic regional one, and quite different from that of local authority mayors. The work of the Mayor of London is scrutinised by the London Assembly, a unique arrangement in the English local government system. The Mayor of London cannot be removed from office by a referendum following a petition, as is the case for directly elected mayors elsewhere in England.

The role should not be confused with the ancient position of Lord Mayor of London, elected annually by liverymen of the City of London.

Local Government Act 2000

Main articles: Local Government Act 2000 and Executive arrangements

Elsewhere in England and Wales, since the Local Government Act 2000, there have been a range of options for how a local council executive leadership can be constituted, and installing a directly elected mayor is one of these options. The 2000 act ended the previous committee-based system, where functions were exercised by committees of the council (although this was reinstated in 2012). All of several hundred principal councils were required to review their executive arrangements under the 2000 legislation. Local authorities considering the option of an elected mayor were required to put the question to a local referendum. It is also possible for campaign groups to trigger a local referendum with a signed petition. A number of areas with elected mayors also have civic mayors or Lord mayors and these ceremonial roles conferred on acting councillors are separate from elected mayors.

From 2000 until 2022 all directly elected mayors in England were elected using the Supplementary Vote electoral system.^[3] Following the passing of the Elections Act 2022 future mayoral elections will be run using first past the post.

Adoption

Main article: England and Wales mayoral referendums

Eleven mayors were established during 2002, in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan districts, unitary authorities and London boroughs. Three further mayoralties were created under this legislation: in 2005 (Torbay; abolished 2019),^[4] 2010 (Tower Hamlets),^[5] and 2015 (Copeland).^[6]

Some of the first mayoral elections were won by independents, notably in Hartlepool, where the election was won by Stuart Drummond, who played Hartlepool United's mascot; and in Middlesbrough, where it was won by former police officer Ray Mallon, who left the local police force to stand for election.

Although Wales is included in the legislation, only one Welsh authority, Ceredigion, held a referendum on such a proposal, in May 2004. Over 70% of the voters voted against the proposal.^[7]

Legislative changes

Main article: Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007

In October 2006, the DCLG white paper Strong and Prosperous Communities proposed that in future the requirement for a referendum to approve the establishment of an elected mayor for a council area be dropped in favour of a simple resolution of the council following community consultation. It also proposed the direct election of council cabinets where requested, and that the 'mayor and council manager' system in Stoke-on-Trent be reformed into a conventional 'mayor and cabinet' system, it having been the only English council to adopt that system.^[8] The 'mayor and council manager' option was later revoked by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and a referendum was no longer required if two thirds of a council voted in favour of the change in executive model.^[9] The elected cabinet option was not taken forward. The 2007 legislation required all local authorities to review their executive arrangements again and consider the case for an elected mayor.

City council mayors

Main article: 2012 English mayoral referendums

In February 2006, the Institute for Public Policy Research published a report calling for elected mayors in Birmingham and Manchester, which was positively received by the government, but not by the two city councils concerned. Later Prime Minister David Cameron expressed support for the system, saying directly elected mayors are "accountable" and can "galvanise action".^[10] On 2 May 2012, think tank the Bow Group published a short article supporting directly elected mayors in large English cities.^[11]

The Localism Act 2011 permitted central government to trigger referendums for elected mayors,^[12] and this was intended to happen in the largest cities during 2012. Ahead of this, Leicester City Council in 2011 and Liverpool City Council in 2012 exercised their option to have a directly elected mayor without a referendum.^[13] In September 2011 citizens of Salford collected the required number of signatures to force a referendum, which was successful. The first mayoral election took place in May 2012.^[14]

Using the powers in the Localism Act 2011, on 3 May 2012, referendums were held in 10 English cities to decide whether or not to switch to a system that includes a directly elected mayor.^[15] Only one, Bristol, voted for a mayoral system. Doncaster voted to retain its elected mayoral system in a referendum held on the same day.

Combined authority mayors

 

Map showing combined authority mayors by party affiliation in 2018

In 2014 it was announced that a Mayor of Greater Manchester would be created as leader of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, subject to new primary legislation. In 2017 elections were held for Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region, the Tees Valley, West of England and the West Midlands as part of the devolution deals allowed by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016. The delayed election for the Sheffield City Region followed in May 2018. As of 2021^[update], the North East Combined Authority is the only combined authority without a mayor. The North of Tyne Authority and the North East Combined Authority are set to be merged into the new North East Mayoral Combined Authority, which its first election is set to take place in May 2024.^[16]

Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 introduced new types of measures in the local government system in England. Relevantly, the LURA introduced the new combined county authority structure, created new powers to be devolved to combined authorities, and allowed mayors to take a different title, for example "Governor", "elected leader" or "county commissioner". There are several "devolution deals" that are set to be enshrined in statute following the LURA receiving royal assent.

County leaders

County leaders are due to be directly elected in Norfolk and Suffolk in 2024.^[17]

Removing the post of mayor

Executive arrangement reviews, petitions and local referendums in the Local Government Act 2000 can also be used to remove the post of mayor and revert to the typical "leader and cabinet" executive arrangement. Such methods could not initially be used to remove the post of mayor if it was established following a Government-mandated referendum. However, a House of Lords amendment to the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 modified the Local Government Act 2000 to establish the right of a future referendum to abolish any local authority elected mayor established following a Government-mandated referendum.^[18]

Councillors have complained about the perceived excessive power of directly elected mayors.^[19][20] There have been campaigns in four of the local authorities with directly elected mayors to hold referendums to abolish the posts.^[21] In Lewisham, the Bring Back Democracy campaign called for a new referendum, citing poor turnout and a very close result in the 2001 referendum.^[22] In April 2007, Lewisham Council voted 28–24 against a motion calling for consultation over the issue.^[23]

In Doncaster, in March 2007, "Fair Deal" campaigners presented an 11,000-signature petition to the council calling for a new referendum. The council voted 31–27 in favour of a new referendum, which was held in May 2012.^[24] The electorate voted in favour of retaining the mayoralty. The Middlesbrough electorate also voted to retain the mayoral system.^[25]

Three councils have reverted to leader and cabinet executives. The electorate of Stoke-on-Trent voted to remove the post of elected mayor on 23 October 2008, to be replaced with a system of council leader and cabinet.^[26] In November 2012 Hartlepool also voted to scrap the position of directly elected mayor in a referendum.^[27] Liverpool City Council chose to abolish the post of elected mayor and revert to a leader and cabinet model from May 2023 following a 2022 consultation on its future governance.

Referendums were held in North Tyneside and Torbay in May 2016 to determine the future of their mayoralties.^[28] While North Tyneside voted to retain the system, Torbay voted in favour of returning to a leader and cabinet style of governance. Further referendums were held in May 2021 in Newham and Tower Hamlets, which both voted to retain the mayoral system.

Bristol voted to remove the post of elected mayor in a referendum on 5 May 2022, to be replaced with a committee system.^[29]

Scotland and Northern Ireland

The Local Government Act 2000 does not apply in Scotland and the Scottish Parliament has chosen to reform local government instead by introducing the Single Transferable Vote electoral system. The Scottish Conservatives support elected mayors where there is found to be "local demand in our major towns and cities".^[30] A mayor in Scotland is traditionally known as a provost.

There are no directly elected mayors in Northern Ireland. Offices of mayors in Northern Ireland are only a ceremonial position.

Powers

The powers of the mayor are commensurate with the kind of local authority for which they are the executive. London borough councils, metropolitan district councils and unitary authority councils have broadly similar functions, but for non-metropolitan district councils it is a subset, for example not having power over education, libraries and waste management. The Mayor of London has completely different powers to the "mayor and cabinet" leaders.

A local-authority elected mayor has powers similar to those of the executive committee in a Leader and Cabinet model local authority. These are described as either "exclusive" powers or "co-decision" powers and are defined in the Local Government (Functions and Responsibilities) (England) Regulations 2000.^[31]

Co-decision powers are those the mayor shares with the council, notably the power to make the local authority's annual budget and its policy framework documents. These are: Annual Library Plan; Best Value Performance Plan; Children's Services Plan; Community Care Plan; Community Strategy; Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy; Early Years Development Plan; Education Development Plan; Local Development Framework; and the Youth Justice Plan. To amend or reject a mayor's proposals for any of these documents, the council must resolve to do so by a two-thirds majority. This is again based on secondary legislation, in this case the Local Government (Standing Orders) (England) Regulations 2001.^[32]

Exclusive powers are less easy to define, because they consist of all the powers that are granted to a local authority by Act of Parliament except those defined either as co-decision powers or as "not to be the responsibility of an authority's executive". This latter is a limited list, including quasi-judicial decisions on planning and licensing, and certain ceremonial, employment and legal decisions.

An elected mayor (in a mayor and cabinet system) also has the power to appoint up to nine councillors as members of a cabinet and to delegate powers, either to them as individuals, or to the Mayor and Cabinet committee, or to subcommittees of the Mayor and Cabinet committee. In practice, the mayor remains personally accountable, so most mayors have chosen to delegate to a very limited extent—if at all.

Local authorities in Britain remain administered by a permanent staff of chief officers led by a chief executive or chief operating officer^[33] who are politically neutral bureaucrats. Their powers remain unaffected by the introduction of elected mayor. Senior officers continue to be appointed by a politically representative committee of councillors, and the mayor may not attempt to influence the decision as to who is appointed (except within the committee as a member of the committee). To maintain the staff's professional and political independence, the mayor (or any other member of the council) may not personally direct any member of staff. Accordingly, an elected mayor cannot really be accurately characterised as an executive mayor, as in parts of the US and certain other countries, but more as a semi-executive mayor.

Consultations took place in 12 English cities due to have referendums over the introduction of elected mayors, over what powers those mayors should have, and how they should be scrutinised.^[34]

Referendum results

Main article: England and Wales mayoral referendums

As of October 2021, there have been 54 referendums on the question of changing executive arrangements to a model with an elected mayor. Referendums are triggered by council resolution, local petition or central government intervention. Of these, 17 have resulted in the establishment of a new mayoralty and 37 have been rejected by voters. Average "yes" vote is 45%. Typical turnout is around 30%, but has been as low as 10% and as high as 64%. The turnout is higher when the referendum coincides with another vote, such as an election.

There have been eight referendums on the question of removing the post of elected mayor. Three mayoral posts have been disestablished following a vote and five retained.

Two local authority mayors, those for Leicester and Liverpool, were created by city council resolution without holding a referendum.

List of directly elected mayors

As of May 2023^[update], there are 24 directly elected mayors in England.

Mayoralties covering more than one local authority

Combined/regional authority	Post	Type	Current mayor	Party		First election	Next election	Population (2020)^[35]
Greater London Authority	Mayor of London	Greater London Authority	Sadiq Khan		Labour	2000	2024	8,547,000
West Midlands Combined Authority	Mayor of the West Midlands	Combined authority	Andy Street		Conservative	2017	2024	2,939,900
Greater Manchester Combined Authority	Mayor of Greater Manchester	Combined authority	Andy Burnham		Labour Co-op	2017	2024	2,848,300
West Yorkshire Combined Authority	Mayor of West Yorkshire	Combined authority	Tracy Brabin		Labour Co-op	2021	2024	2,345,200
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority	Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region	Combined authority	Steve Rotheram		Labour	2017	2024	1,564,000
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority	Mayor of South Yorkshire	Combined authority	Oliver Coppard		Labour Co-op	2018	2024 - moved from 2026 with new PCC powers^[36]	1,415,100
West of England Combined Authority	Mayor of the West of England	Combined authority	Dan Norris		Labour	2017	2025	950,000
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority	Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough	Combined authority	Nik Johnson		Labour Co-op	2017	2025	859,800
North of Tyne Combined Authority	Mayor of the North of Tyne	Combined authority	Jamie Driscoll		Independent	2019	2024 - under the new North East mayorality	839,500
Tees Valley Combined Authority	Mayor of the Tees Valley	Combined authority	Ben Houchen		Conservative	2017	2024	677,200

Mayoralties covering a single local authority

Local authority	Post	Type	Current mayor	Party		Established	Next election	Population
Bedford Borough Council	Mayor of Bedford	Unitary authority	Tom Wootton		Conservative	2002	2027	155,700
Bristol City Council	Mayor of Bristol	Unitary authority	Marvin Rees		Labour	2012	n/a^[n 1]	428,200
Croydon London Borough Council	Mayor of Croydon	London borough	Jason Perry		Conservative	2022	2026	386,710
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council	Mayor of Doncaster	Metropolitan borough	Ros Jones		Labour	2002	2025	291,600
Hackney London Borough Council	Mayor of Hackney	London borough	Caroline Woodley		Labour	2002	2026	212,200
Leicester City Council	Mayor of Leicester	Unitary authority	Peter Soulsby		Labour	2011	2027	294,700
Lewisham London Borough Council	Mayor of Lewisham	London borough	Damien Egan		Labour Co-op	2002	2026	261,600
Mansfield District Council	Mayor of Mansfield	Non-metropolitan district	Andy Abrahams		Labour	2002	2027	100,600
Middlesbrough Borough Council	Mayor of Middlesbrough	Unitary authority	Chris Cooke		Labour Co-op	2002	2027	139,000
Newham London Borough Council	Mayor of Newham	London borough	Rokhsana Fiaz		Labour Co-op	2002	2026	249,500
North Tyneside Council	Mayor of North Tyneside	Metropolitan borough	Norma Redfearn		Labour	2002	2025	196,000
Salford City Council	Mayor of Salford	Metropolitan borough	Paul Dennett		Labour	2012	2024	229,000
Tower Hamlets London Borough Council	Mayor of Tower Hamlets	London borough	Lutfur Rahman		Aspire	2010	2026	220,500
Watford Borough Council	Mayor of Watford	Non-metropolitan district	Peter Taylor		Liberal Democrats	2002	2026	80,000

Proposed mayoralties and leaderships

Combined/regional authority	Post	Type	First election
East Midlands Mayoral Combined County Authority	Mayor of the East Midlands	Mayoral County Combined Authority in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire^[37]	2024 (inaugural election)
Greater Lincolnshire Mayoral Combined County Authority	Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire	Mayoral County Combined Authority in Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, and North East Lincolnshire^[38]	2025 (inaugural election)
Hull and East Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority	Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire	Mayoral Combined Authority in Kingston-upon-Hull, and the East Riding of Yorkshire^[39]	2025 (inaugural election)
Norfolk County Council	Leader of Norfolk County Council	County Deal in Norfolk, with an Elected Leader and not Mayor^[40]	2024 (inaugural election)
North East Mayoral Combined Authority	Mayor of the North East	Mayoral Combined Authority, which will merge the North East Combined Authority and the North of Tyne Combined Authority^[41]	2024 (inaugural election)
Suffolk County Council	Leader of Suffolk County Council	County Deal in Suffolk, with an Elected Leader and not Mayor^[42]	2024 (inaugural election)
York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority	Mayor of York and North Yorkshire	Mayoral Combined Authority in York and North Yorkshire^[43]	2024 (inaugural election)

Cancelled proposals

Combined/regional authority	Post	Type	Cancellation
Cornwall Council	Mayor of Cornwall	Mayoral Deal in Cornwall, which changes the Governance model of Cornwall Council from a Leader and Cabinet to a Mayor and Cabinet^[44]	Cancelled April 2023^[45]^[46]

Former mayoralties

Former mayoralties are:

Local authority	Post	Type	Established	Disestablished
Copeland Borough Council	Mayor of Copeland	Non-metropolitan district	2015	2023
Hartlepool Borough Council	Mayor of Hartlepool	Unitary authority	2002	2013
Liverpool City Council	Mayor of Liverpool	Metropolitan borough	2012	2023
Stoke-on-Trent City Council	Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent	Unitary authority	2002	2009
Torbay Council	Mayor of Torbay	Unitary authority	2005	2019

Notes

1. Following a referendum in 2022, Bristol City Council will abandon the mayor and cabinet model and adopt the committee model in 2024, when Marvin Rees's term will end.

References

1. Hunt, Tristram (16 May 2004). "Why cities can thank the Tories". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
2. "Mayor of London". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
3. "Local elections 2019: the directly elected mayoral contests". Democratic Audit. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
4. "Tory elected as mayor of Torbay". BBC News. 21 October 2005. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
5. "Lutfur Rahman wins Tower Hamlets mayoral election". BBC News. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
6. "Copeland chooses Mike Starkie as first elected mayor". BBC News. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
7. "Voters' 'No' to mayor". BBC News. 21 May 2004. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
8. "Local government reform – England". City Mayors. 30 October 2006. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
9. Directly-elected mayors, Standard Note: SN/PC/5000, 16 July 2013, Mark Sandford, Section Parliament and Constitution Centre
10. "Manchester 'should have elected mayor'". BBC News. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
11. Godwin-Pearson, Graham. "Bow Group – Why England's cities should say 'Yes' to elected mayors". bowgroup.org. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
12. "A plain English guide to the Localism Act" (PDF). gov.uk. Department for Communities and Local Government. November 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2015. Using powers in the Act, the Government intends to trigger a referendum in the largest cities outside London, inviting local people to decide whether they want to have an elected mayor.
13. "Liverpool council votes to elect city mayor". BBC News. 7 February 2012.
14. "Salford referendum votes for directly elected mayor". BBC News. 27 January 2012.
15. "Date set for elected city mayors". Communities.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
16. "North East devolution deal". GOV.UK. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
17. Gove, Michael (8 December 2022). "Historic devolution deals transfer building, regeneration and skills powers to level up Suffolk and Norfolk". Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. London. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
18. "Referendums to undo change to mayor and cabinet executive". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
19. Watson, Nick (19 October 2006). "West Midlands: Government 'night-mayor'". BBC. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
20. Szreter, Simon (May 2002). "A central role for local government? The example of late Victorian Britain". History & Policy. United Kingdom. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
21. Sherman, Jill (4 September 2006). "Voters aim to throw out mayors they say are acting like dictators". The Times. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
22. "Parallels H-Sphere". Bringbackdemocracy.org.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
23. . Lewisham.labour.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
24. Waugh, Rob. "Councillors back referendum on mayoral system – Yorkshire Post". Yorkshiretoday.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
25. "Middlesbrough referendum: Elected mayor retained". BBC News. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
26. "City votes to eject elected mayor". BBC News. 24 October 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
27. Mulholland, Hélène (16 November 2012). "Mayor H'Angus the Monkey finally loses his Hartlepool habitat". The Guardian. London: 16 November 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
28. "Mayoral referendum". North Tyneside Council. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
29. "Bristol Mayor Vote: Voters Decide to Abolish Mayor Post". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
30. "Goldie says SNP 'worse than Labour' over state control". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
31. . Opsi.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 28 September 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
32. . Opsi.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
33. "Leicester's mayor celebrates his commanding position". The Guardian. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
34. "Directly-elected mayors: Final day of public consultation". BBC News. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
35. ONS Population estimates – local authority based by five year age band [2020] via Nomis
36. "South Yorkshire's Mayor to seek approval to become Police & Crime Commissioner". South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner. Sheffield. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
37. Clark, Greg (30 August 2022). "East Midlands local economy to be levelled up with historic billion pound devolution deal". Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. London. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
38. "Government announces Greater Lincolnshire devolution proposal". Lincolnshire County Council. Lincoln. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
39. "Devolution deal announced for Hull and East Yorkshire". Hull City Council. Hull. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
40. Gove, Michael (8 December 2022). "Historic devolution deals transfer building, regeneration and skills powers to level up Suffolk and Norfolk". Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. London. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
41. Gove, Michael (28 December 2022). "Historic £1.4 billion devolution deal for North East". Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Newcastle. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
42. Gove, Michael (8 December 2022). "Historic devolution deals transfer building, regeneration and skills powers to level up Suffolk and Norfolk". Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. London. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
43. Clark, Greg (1 August 2022). "Historic devolution deal to be signed with York and North Yorkshire". Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. London. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
44. Davison, Dehanna (2 December 2022). "Historic £360 million devolution deal transfers building and skills powers to level up Cornwall". Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. London. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
45. "Cornwall drops devolution plan with elected mayor over public 'concern'". The Independent. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
46. "Devolution deal with elected mayor dropped by Cornwall Council". BBC News. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.

External links

• Directory of current mayors
• House of Commons Library Briefing Note
• Arguments for elected mayors
• Arguments against elected mayors
• Institute for Government mayoral pages
• Warwick Commission on Elected Mayors and City Leadership