UK Parliament: Directly-Elected Mayors in England and Wales

Our topic this episode discusses directly-elected mayors in England and Wales, a system introduced by the Local Government Act 2000. There are three main ways local authorities can be run: mayor and cabinet, leader and cabinet, or the committee system. Discover how mayors are introduced, either by referendum or council resolution, and why most referendums have voted against them. We also distinguish local authority mayors from different roles like metro-mayors or ceremonial mayors.

Key Takeaways:

• Directly-elected mayors for local authorities were introduced in England and Wales by the Local Government Act 2000.
• Local authorities can choose one of three main political management setups: mayor and cabinet, leader and cabinet, or the committee system.
• A mayor can be created either by a referendum vote or a resolution passed by the full council.
• Most referendums held to create an elected mayor have resulted in a 'no' vote.
• Local authority mayors in England and Wales do not automatically have more powers than authorities using other systems.
• There are different types of mayors, including metro-mayors and ceremonial mayors, who are distinct from directly-elected local authority mayors and have different roles or powers.
• The voting system for elected mayors changed from Supplementary Vote to First Past the Post in May 2023.

Definitions 

• Directly-elected mayor and cabinet: One of three ways a local authority can be run, where a mayor is elected by the public and leads an executive cabinet.
• Committee system: A traditional way for local authorities to make decisions through policy committees approved by the full council.
• Metro-mayors: Elected chairs of combined authorities covering multiple council areas, established under different legislation and having distinct powers (like transport and economic development) compared to local authority mayors.

Discussion: most referendums on elected mayors have resulted in 'no' votes. Why do you think local electorates have often rejected this model?

Source: Directly-elected mayors

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello and welcome again to The Bench Report. You're listening to Amy and Ivan.

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Hello.

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Today, we're looking into directly elected mayors in England and Wales. This all really kicked off with the Local Government Act of 2000, didn't it?

SPEAKER_00 0:18

It did. That piece of legislation, it sort of gave local councils a few options for how they're run.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

What kind of options?

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Well, you could have a directly elected mayor with a cabinet or a leader also with a cabinet or go back to the committee system.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

Now, something that's probably important to grasp straight away is that just having a directly elected mayor doesn't automatically give them extra powers compared to those other setups, right?

SPEAKER_00 0:44

That's a crucial point. Their authority stems from the same general local government laws. It's more about the structure.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

And just so everyone's clear, this whole directly elected mayor thing, it's not happening in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

No, they don't have the specific laws needed for it. And we're also not talking about parishes or town councils in England or the community council you find in Wales. This is about the main local authorities.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Okay. So... What was the driver behind introducing elected mayors in the first place? What were they trying to achieve?

SPEAKER_00 1:14

The main goal really was clear decision making. The thought was, if you have one person directly elected to lead, it makes responsibility much more obvious.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

Obvious to who? Counselors or the public?

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Both. Ideally, clearer lines of accountability for everyone involved, including you, the residents.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

It's interesting because didn't both... main parties, Labor and the Conservatives, initially support having more of these mayors?

SPEAKER_00 1:41

Generally, yes. There was cross-party interest initially, but while it didn't take off quite as expected, a 2006 government paper actually expressed some disappointment.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Why was that?

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Only 12 local authorities had adopted the model by then. Perhaps the original requirement for a referendum was a bit of a barrier.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Ah, so you needed a public vote to get one at the start.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

You did. A referendum with a yes vote was the only path. But that changed.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

When did that change?

Public have often voted NO

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Since 2007, a full council could also just pass a resolution to bring in a mayoralty. Liverpool and Leicester, for instance, went down that route.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

But even with that option, it sounds like when the public has had a say in referendums, they've often voted no.

SPEAKER_00 2:19

That's true. Most mayoral referendums have resulted in no votes. As of May 2024, we were down to only 13 local authorities with these types of mayors.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

And that count doesn't include the big city region mayors or London.

Powers and Limitations

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Correct. Those are separate categories. It does make you wonder why there's been that reluctance in many places.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

Indeed. Remind us, the powers these local authority mayors hold, they're broadly similar to other council leaderships.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

Broadly, yes. Their day-to-day powers aren't vastly different. One specific thing they must do, though, is appoint a deputy mayor from within their cabinet members.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Are there specific things they can't do alone? Decisions that still need the full council is okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

Oh, absolutely. Key functions like major planning decisions, licensing rules, handling elections, those generally stay with the full council. It maintains checks and balances.

Local Authority v Metro Mayors

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Right. That makes sense. Now, we've touched on different types of mayors. Could you break that down a bit more? Local authority mayor versus a metro mayor?

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Sure. Local authority mayors, they operate within one council area. Think of a specific borough or district. Metro mayors are different. They came about through separate laws. like the Devolution Act in 2016. And

SPEAKER_01 3:30

they cover wider regions.

London Mayor

SPEAKER_00 3:31

Exactly. They lead combined authorities, which group several council areas together. And crucially, they often have wider powers, particularly around things like regional economic strategy, transport planning, sometimes skills funding. And

SPEAKER_01 3:50

London's mayor. another category again.

SPEAKER_00 3:52

Yes. The mayor of London is quite unique. Their powers come from specific Greater London Authority Acts and cover major strategic areas, transport across London, policing, the fire service.

SPEAKER_01 4:04

But the individual London boroughs still run local services.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Precisely. They handle schools, waste collection, local planning, things like that. The mayor has the strategic overview.

Lord Mayors

SPEAKER_01 4:13

And just to complete the picture, what about traditional lord mayors or town mayors? Where do they fit?

SPEAKER_00 4:19

These are mostly ceremonial roles now. Often they'd share council meetings, represent the area at events, but they don't hold the executive power that a directly elected mayor does.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

So you could technically have several mayors in one place.

SPEAKER_00 4:32

You could. Middlesbrough, for example, has had a directly elected mayor, is part of the Tees Valley Combined Authority with a metro mayor, and also has a ceremonial mayor. Gets a bit confusing.

Referendums

SPEAKER_01 4:43

It sounds like it. How much say does the public get in keeping or removing these elected mayors once they're in place?

SPEAKER_00 4:51

Well, there have been specific government mandated referendums. Remember, in 2012, 10 big cities had to hold votes.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

I do. Bristol was the only one that voted yes then, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_00 5:01

That's right. But beyond that. Local people can trigger a referendum, too. If you can get a petition signed by at least 5% of the local electors, you can force a vote on whether to keep the mayoral system or switch to something else. There are some timing rules around when the vote happens, though.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

And can you vote to get rid of a mayoralty altogether?

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Yes, absolutely. Referendums can be held to abolish the post, triggered either by petition or by the council deciding to hold one.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

What happens if a place votes to abolish the mayor? Does the current one leave immediately?

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Usually... No. The sitting mayor typically serves out the rest of their elected term. We've seen places like Stoke-on-Trent, Hartlepool, Torbay, and more recently Liverpool and Bristol vote to remove the mayoral system.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

But others have voted to keep them.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Correct. Doncaster, Middlesbrough, North Tyneside, Newham, Tower Hamlets. They've all had referendums where people chose to stick with the mayoral model.

Voting systems for Mayors

SPEAKER_01 5:57

Okay. And the way these mayors actually get elected... The voting system itself has changed too, hasn't it?

SPEAKER_00 6:04

It has quite recently. We used to use the supplementary vote or SV. Remind

SPEAKER_01 6:09

me how that worked.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

You'd put a one for your first choice and if you wanted a two for your second choice. If nobody got over 50% of the first choices, everyone except the top two candidates was eliminated. Then, the second-choice votes from the eliminated candidates were redistributed to see who won between the top two.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

A bit more complex. And now?

Future Mayors? Counties

SPEAKER_00 6:26

Now, thanks to the Elections Act 2022, it's first past the post. Same as general elections. You get one vote, and the person with the most votes wins, even if it's not over 50%. That started from May 2023.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

Right. Looking forward, then, any signs of more mayors appearing?

SPEAKER_00 6:41

Possibly, yes. Particularly through these ongoing devolution deals. We're seeing the creation of county mayors. County mayors? Yes. Places like Norfolk and Suffolk have deals agreed. They're expected to hold their first elections for these county-level mayors in May 2025.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

And would they have different powers again?

Conclusions

SPEAKER_00 7:01

It's likely they'll have more significant powers than the standard local authority mayors we discussed earlier, specifically tailored through those devolution agreements. More strategic, probably.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

So wrapping this up, it's fair to say the landscape of elected mayors in England and Wales is, well, pretty varied and still evolving.

SPEAKER_00 7:20

Definitely. You've got different types, different ways they come into being, different powers and different ways the public can decide to keep them or remove them.

SPEAKER_01 7:27

It certainly makes you think about how these different leadership models might affect how local decisions get made and perhaps how engaged people feel with local politics in their area.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Absolutely. Does having that single elected figurehead make a difference to visibility, to accountability, or does it concentrate too much power? These are ongoing questions.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

As always, find us on social media at Bench Report UK. Our next topic is parliamentary carryover. We hope you can join us. Take care.

UNKNOWN 7:56

Take care.