Give elected mayors remit extending beyond city boundaries, says report

Elected mayors should be handed a formal remit that extends beyond the city boundaries currently proposed by the Government, a report has argued.

The Warwick Commission on Elected Mayors and City Leadership, set up by The University of Warwick, also warned ministers that the drive to encourage cities to adopt elected mayors could not provide a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution.

Referenda on whether to adopt a system of elected mayors will be held next month in ten English cities: Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Wakefield, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Newcastle, Nottingham and Coventry.

Leicester elected Sir Peter Soulsby as its mayor in May 2011. Liverpool City Council meanwhile agreed to elect a mayor next month in return for the role being given extra powers by ministers under a so-called ‘City Deal’.

In its report the Warwick Commission said the areas people identified with were not bounded necessarily by city council boundaries.

“Mayors are more likely to be effective, both in supporting the economy and making effective decisions for local citizens, if they are responsible for functioning economic areas,” it argued.

The research also suggested that there was “no point in electing a mayor whose remit does not cover the necessarily boundary-spanning regions that could foster economic growth – the so-called Metro-Mayor.”

The Commission called on the Government to consider extending to city region/metro mayors where this was appropriate for local areas “at the earliest opportunity”.

It also said that there needed to be an appropriate recall process, allowing for the removal of an elected mayor in office in extremis. The mayor must be visibly held to account but not undermined by a separately elected body, the report said.

The Commission meanwhile warned that remuneration for mayors and their principal officers and advisers could become a “political minefield”. Developing models and approaches to remuneration should be explored at the earliest opportunity, it said.

Research director Professor Keith Grint wrote in the report: “Directly elected mayors offer the possibility of greater visibility, accountability and co-ordinative leadership as well as re-enchanting the body politic, and much of this derives from their relative independence from party discipline through their direct mandate and through their four year term.”

But Professor Grint also argued that in some cities an elected mayor might not be necessary because they had already constructed “a significant identity and were vigorously and strategically led”.

Researchers at the Commission examined the track records and experiences of elected mayors in the UK and around the world. They interviewed 42 mayors, staff and senior council figures in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the US.

The key question they sought to address was: “What is the role of elected mayors in providing strategic leadership to cities?”

The Commission is chaired by Professor Wyn Grant, Professor of Politics in the Department of Politics and International Studies at Warwick. Members include John Atkinson from KPMG and Professor Graham Wilson, Chair of the Department of Political Science at Boston University.