Directly elected mayors in the United Kingdom

Directly elected mayors are council leaders elected by the general electorate of a council area for local government, instead of being appointed by members of a local authority, which is common in the United Kingdom. The Elected Mayor is elected from a number of candidates who put themselves up for election by all the electorate of a council area. The post is different from that of Lord Mayor, which is ceremonial.

Background

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. Elsewhere in England and Wales, since the Local Government Act 2000, there have been a range of options for how a local council leadership can be constituted, and installing a directly elected mayor is one of these options. It is possible to introduce or remove the office of mayor in any local council, other than the Greater London Authority, by triggering a local referendum with a signed petition. There are currently twelve directly elected mayors, including the Mayor of London.

In 2000, the Labour government led by Tony Blair passed the Local Government Act 2000, which introduced the option of directly elected mayors (also known as directly elected Council Leaders) for local authorities in England and Wales. The Act ended the previous committee-based system, where functions were exercised by committees of the council, and produced three distinct methods of local authority administration (and the opportunity for the Government to define more by secondary legislation). All three separated the decision-making executive function from backbench councillors and created opportunities for overview and scrutiny processes.

The Greater London Authority Act 1999 first introduced into England the principle of a directly elected Mayor of London under universal suffrage. The first election was in 2000, and former leader of the abolished Greater London Council, Ken Livingstone, won as an independent. However, the position is a strategic regional one, and quite different from that of local authority Mayors.

In addition to the Mayor of London, twelve councils in England now have directly elected mayors with real powers and an advisory cabinet to assist them. The changes were encouraged by the central government but usually required local request and ratification by referendum. This system had been considered by the previous government, and former Environment Secretary Michael Heseltine had been a proponent of it.^[1]

A number of areas with Elected Mayors have also had Lord Mayors. Lord Mayors are ceremonial roles conferred on acting councillors, and are separate from Elected Mayors. Under current legislation, an authority cannot have two people with the word 'mayor' in their job title.^[2]

Regional variances

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. Having receded somewhat as an issue after 2002, it has now moved up the political agenda again, following positive reports of mayors' performance under the new system and recent Labour gains in several mayoralties. In February 2006, the Labour-leaning 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.

In October 2005, Torbay elected its first elected mayor.^[3]

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.^[4]

Although Wales is included in the legislation, only one Welsh authority, Ceredigion, has held a referendum on such a proposal, which was rejected.

The Act 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".^[5] A mayor in Scotland is traditionally known as a provost.

Powers of Directly Elected Mayors

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.^[6]

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.^[7]

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.

Protecting the British tradition of independent public service has led to the situation where the apparent introduction of separation of powers has led only to the transfer of powers from one elected branch (the council) to another (the mayor). Local authorities in Britain remain administered by a permanent staff of chief officers led by a chief executive, 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 more junior officers by the senior officers), 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. Changing the direction of an authority may only be made through a formal decision-making process and then only on the basis of official reports put together by officers.

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.

Political attitude to system

There has been councillors backlash about perceived excessive power of directly elected mayors.^[8] There has also been some academic comment to the effect that the role "may merely attract mavericks and self-publicists".^[8] But British Prime Minister David Cameron is broadly in favour of the system, saying directly elected mayors are "accountable" and can "galvanise action".^[9]

Voters in Stoke-on-Trent voted to remove the post of elected mayor on 23 October 2008, to be replaced with a more common system of council leader and cabinet.^[10]

Campaigns are now under way in four of the twelve local authorities with directly elected mayors (Doncaster, Hartlepool, Lewisham and Torbay^[11]) to hold referendums to abolish the posts.^[12] 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.^[13] In Lewisham, the Bring Back Democracy campaign is calling for a new referendum, citing poor turnout and a very close result in the 2001 referendum.^[14] In April 2007, Lewisham Council voted 28–24 against a motion calling for consultation over the issue.^[15]

There are a number of private citizen campaigns underway for a referendum to introduce directly elected mayors in a number of English councils. Some of the most notable are in Shropshire, Stockport, Carlisle, Workington and Stafford.

Mayors in the largest cities

Under the Department for Communities and Local Government’s 2010 Structural Reform Plan, the twelve largest cities will adopt directly elected mayors, subject to confirmatory referendums and councillor scrutiny.^[16] The twelve cities are:^[17]

• Birmingham
• Bradford
• Bristol
• Coventry
• Leeds
• Leicester
• Liverpool
• Manchester
• Newcastle
• Nottingham
• Sheffield
• Wakefield

List of directly elected mayors

As of 2011^[update] there were fourteen directly elected Mayors in England (including the Mayor of London). After the mayor of Bedford, Frank Branston died in office in August 2009, an election was held in October 2009 to elect a replacement.^[18][19]

Location	Post	Type	Mayor		Party
Bedford	Mayor of Bedford	unitary authority	Hodgson, DaveDave Hodgson		Liberal Democrat
Doncaster	Mayor of Doncaster	metropolitan borough	Davies, PeterPeter Davies		English Democrats
Hackney	Mayor of Hackney	London borough	Pipe, JulesJules Pipe		Labour
Hartlepool	Mayor of Hartlepool	unitary authority	Drummond, StuartStuart Drummond		Independent
Leicester	Mayor of Leicester	unitary authority	Soulsby, PeterPeter Soulsby		Labour
Lewisham	Mayor of Lewisham	London borough	Bullock, SteveSteve Bullock		Labour
London	Mayor of London	English region	Johnson, BorisBoris Johnson		Conservative
Mansfield	Mayor of Mansfield	non-metropolitan district	Egginton, TonyTony Egginton		Independent
Middlesbrough	Mayor of Middlesbrough	unitary authority	Mallon, RayRay Mallon		Independent
Newham	Mayor of Newham	London borough	Wales, RobinRobin Wales		Labour
North Tyneside	Mayor of North Tyneside	metropolitan borough	Arkley, LindaLinda Arkley		Conservative
Torbay	Mayor of Torbay	unitary authority	Oliver, GordonGordon Oliver		Conservative
Tower Hamlets	Mayor of Tower Hamlets	London borough	Rahman, LutfurLutfur Rahman		Independent
Watford	Mayor of Watford	non-metropolitan district	Thornhill, DorothyDorothy Thornhill		Liberal Democrat

Ex-mayors are:

• Nick Bye (Conservative), Torbay (October 2005 - May 2011)
• John Harrison (Labour), North Tyneside (2005–2009)
• Chris Morgan (Conservative), North Tyneside (May 2002 – April 2003)
• Mike Wolfe (Independent), Stoke-on-Trent (October 2002 – May 2005)
• Mark Meredith (Labour), Stoke-on-Trent (May 2005 - June 2009)
• Ken Livingstone (Independent/Labour), London (2000–2008)
• Martin Winter Labour/Independent, Doncaster (2002–2009)
• Frank Branston (Independent), Bedford (2002–2009)
• Linda Arkley (Conservative), North Tyneside (2003–2005, re-elected 2009)

Past referendums

To date there have been 37 referendums on whether to establish an elected mayor in English local authorities. Twelve have been passed and 25 rejected by the voters.

To cause a referendum, the normal procedure is for the council to request it, which has happened in 22 cases. In 14, the voters themselves have requested a referendum by petition. In Southwark, the government forced the holding of a referendum. There is, of course, no reason to actually hold a referendum, as Councillors have had the right in law to just bring about the post of Elected Mayor instead of the appointed Council Leader, by a simple two thirds majority vote in Council under the Local Government Act 2000 and 2007. Parliament Briefing on Elected Mayors and simple resolution by Councils to bring post into being

"Yes" majority shown in green, "No" majority shown in red.

Local authority	Date	Yes Votes	Yes Vote %	No Votes	No Vote %	Turnout %
Berwick-upon-Tweed	7 June 2001	3,617	26	10,212	74	64
Cheltenham	28 June 2001	8,083	33	16,602	67	32
Gloucester	28 June 2001	7,731	32	16,317	68	31
Watford	12 July 2001	7,636	52	7,140	48	25
Doncaster	20 September 2001	35,453	65	19,398	35	25
Kirklees	4 October 2001	10,169	27	27,977	73	13
Sunderland	11 October 2001	9,375	43	12,209	57	10
Brighton & Hove	18 October 2001	22,724	38	37,214	62	32
Hartlepool	18 October 2001	10,667	51	10,294	49	34
Lewisham	18 October 2001	16,822	51	15,914	49	18
Middlesbrough	18 October 2001	29,067	84	5,422	16	34
North Tyneside	18 October 2001	30,262	58	22,296	42	36
Sedgefield	18 October 2001	10,628	47	11,869	53	33
Redditch	8 November 2001	7,250	44	9,198	56	28
Durham	20 November 2001	8,327	41	11,974	59	29
Harrow	6 December 2001	17,502	43	23,554	57	26
Plymouth	24 January 2002	29,559	41	42,811	59	40
Harlow	24 January 2002	5,296	25	15,490	75	25
Newham	31 January 2002	27,263	68	12,687	32	26
Southwark	31 January 2002	6,054	31	13,217	69	11
West Devon	31 January 2002	3,555	23	12,190	77	42
Shepway	31 January 2002	11,357	44	14,438	56	36
Bedford	21 February 2002	11,316	67	5,537	33	16
Hackney	2 May 2002	24,697	59	10,547	41	32
Mansfield	2 May 2002	8,973	55	7,350	45	21
Newcastle-under-Lyme	2 May 2002	12,912	44	16,468	56	31.5
Oxford	2 May 2002	14,692	44	18,686	56	34
Stoke on Trent	2 May 2002	28,601	58	20,578	42	27
Corby	1 October 2002	5,351	46	6239	54	31
Ealing	12 December 2002	9,454	45	11,655	55	10
Ceredigion	20 May 2004	5,308	27	14,013	73	36
Isle of Wight	5 May 2005	28,786	43.7	37,097	56.3	60.4
Fenland	14 July 2005	5,509	24.2	17,296	75.8	33.6
Torbay	14 July 2005	18,074	55.2	14,682	44.8	32.1
Crewe and Nantwich	4 May 2006	11,808	38.2	18,768	60.8	35.3
Darlington	27 September 2007	7,981	41.6	11,226	58.4	24.6
Bury	3 July 2008	10,338	40.1	15,425	59.9	18.3
Tower Hamlets	6 May 2010	60,758	60.3	39,857	39.7	62.1
Great Yarmouth	5 May 2011	10,051	39.2	15,595	60.8	36

Source: Electoral Commission; Ceredigion County Council; Darlington Borough Council

References

1. ^ Hunt, Tristram (16 May 2004). "Why cities can thank the Tories". The Guardian (London). http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/columnist/story/0,9826,1218659,00.html. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
2. ^ "Historic title may change to 'chairman'". Leicester Mercury (Leicester). 23 December 2010. http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Historic-title-change-chairman/article-3035159-detail/article.html. Retrieved 17 April 2011. 
3. ^ "Tory elected as mayor of Torbay". BBC News. 21 October 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4358616.stm. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
4. ^ "Local government reform - England". City Mayors. 2006-10-30. http://www.citymayors.com/politics/uk_whitepaper06.html. Retrieved 2010-08-04. 
5. ^ Annabel Goldie: A One-Nation party - News and Press - Scottish Conservative Party^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Statutory Instrument 2000 No. 2853". Opsi.gov.uk. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2000/20002853.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-04. 
7. ^ "The Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) Regulations 2001". Opsi.gov.uk. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2001/20013384.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-04. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "West Midlands: Government 'night-mayor'". BBC. 19 October 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/politics_show/6062496.stm. Retrieved 18 April 2011. 
9. ^ "Manchester 'should have elected mayor'". BBC News. 16 April 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/england/8624987.stm. Retrieved 18 April 2011. 
10. ^ "City votes to eject elected mayor". BBC News. 2008-10-24. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/7688312.stm. Retrieved 2010-08-04. 
11. ^ http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/news/d-abolish-role-mayor-8211-Tory-nominee/article-3375882-detail/article.html
12. ^ Sherman, Jill (4 September 2006). "Voters aim to throw out mayors they say are acting like dictators". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,17129-2341604.html. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
13. ^ Waugh, Rob. "Councillors back referendum on mayoral system - Yorkshire Post". Yorkshiretoday.co.uk. http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=2136435&SectionID=55. Retrieved 2010-08-04. 
14. ^ "Parallels H-Sphere". Bringbackdemocracy.org.uk. http://www.bringbackdemocracy.org.uk. Retrieved 2010-08-04. 
15. ^ http://www.lewisham.labour.co.uk/ViewPage.cfm?Page=21381
16. ^ http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/16359212.pdf
17. ^ http://www.regen.net/news/ByDiscipline/Policy/1004727/Elected-mayors-imposed-12-largest-cities/
18. ^ "Mayor dies after heart operation". BBC News. 2009-08-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/8202286.stm. Retrieved 2010-08-04. 
19. ^ "Lib Dem win in mayoral election". BBC News. 2009-10-16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/8311065.stm. 

External links

• Directory of current mayors
• NLGN mayoral pages (inc. FAQ)
• Arguments for elected mayors
• Arguments against elected mayors
• UK Parliament briefing paper (PDF)