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Think Tanks - 08 May 2012 13:05
in Government News Network news

Reaction to mayoral referendums

Responding to the results of the mayoral referendums IfG programme director, Tom Gash said:

“It’s not been a great day for the Coalition. In addition to council losses, the mayoral referendums didn’t give David Cameron the ‘Boris for every city’ he wanted. With all results declared 9 out of 10 cities where referendums were held voted against mayors.

It’s not all bad of course. Bristol choosing a mayor is an important step and Liverpool, Leicester and Salford have also switched to the mayoral system. And Doncaster voted to keep the system after actually experiencing mayoral government.

Still, the government clearly struggled to convince the electorate of the benefits that mayors would bring. Apathy was compounded by three factors: the refusal of government to be clear about the precise additional powers mayors would be given; campaigning by local councillors who mobilised party machines to resist changes that would mean less power for them; and wariness of claims about additional costs.

Now, those who see the invisibility of local politicians and the excessive centralisation of English government as a problem will need to look for new options. One of the most promising options on offer is the city-region model for local governance currently operating in Greater Manchester, which has already been promised additional powers by central government. And then of course there’s Greater London, a city region – but one with a visible, democratic mayoral system that few Londoners would now want replaced."

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