Government scraps plans for shadow mayors and mayoral chief executives

The government has ditched plans for the creation of shadow mayors ahead of local referendums in England’s 11 largest cities on whether to have directly elected mayors.

As the Localism Bill started its committee stage in the House of Lords, local government minister Baroness Hanham also said the provisions in relation to mayoral chief executives would also be scrapped.

Baroness Hanham told the Lords: “At Second Reading I indicated that we would listen to noble Lords’ concerns about shadow mayors and mayors as chief executives. We are keen to build on the common ground and consensus that the Bill has enjoyed.

“I should therefore like to say at this stage that when we reach the debate on mayoral provisions, the Government will be pleased to support amendments that have the effect of deleting from the Bill mayoral management arrangements; that is, mayors as chief executives and the concept of shadow mayors.”

However, the minister added: “Deleting these provisions from the Bill will not prevent councils deciding to do away with the non-statutory post of chief executive should they choose to do so. Indeed, the newly elected mayor of Leicester has announced that he is proposing to do just that.”

The 11 cities covered by the mayoral proposals are: Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Coventry, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Sheffield and Wakefield.

Leicester’s mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, announced plans shortly after his election in May this year to remove the role of chief executive as part of a revamp of the authority’s senior management structure.

For background on the original proposals, see Nicholas Dobson's article Doppel und Spitze!

Philip Hoult