New Politics and Policy in the City - Mayoral Governance of
the Dublin City Region
Directly Elected Mayors: The English Experiences and
Lessons in what not to do
Professor Colin Copus,
Professor of Local Politics
Local Governance Research Unit, Department of Public Policy
De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH
@ProfCopusLG
Email: [email protected] web: www.dmu.ac.uk/lgru
Local Governance Research Unit
Local Governance Research Unit
Introduction
•  Party Politics and Local Government
•  Why change and the arguments about Elected Mayors
•  Building New Models of Local Government
•  Powers, Responsibilities and Frustrations
Local Governance Research Unit
Councillors in England May 2016:
Type of
Council
County
Unitary
London
Borough
Con
Lab
LD
UKIP Gn
Others
940
381
250
131
20
89
1305
1148
307
63
37
240
610
1063
117
11
4
46
MBC
District
Totals
395
1720
178
45
28
53
5236
1596
841
243
75
579
1,693
493
164
1,007
8,486 5,908
Local Governance Research Unit
Councillors in England (rounded figures):
Three main parties
–  16,087 councillors
–  90.6 % of England’s total councillor population
Local Governance Research Unit
Councillors in England:
•  Small Parties and Independents
–  875 councillors
–  4.9% of England’s total councillor population
•  that are Independent, or from smaller national parties
excluding UKIP and the Greens
•  3.7%UKIP and Greens =
Local Governance Research Unit
Why Change?
• 
Accountability
• 
Transparency
• 
local leadership
• 
Direct link to the voters
• 
Party Politics
• 
Image
Local Governance Research Unit
Reasons for mayors: Personality or Polices or Both
Accountable and high-profile
local political leadership
Direct link to the voters
Influence not power
External relations
A focus for decision-making
Vision
Speed of political action
Local Governance Research Unit
Visibility: Institute for Government Survey
•  Proportion of respondents who could correctly name the Leader of their
local council
–  85% said they could not name council leader
–  8% correct
–  7% incorrect
(2,299 adults between 21st - 22nd February 2012 Institute for Government, 2012)
Local Governance Research Unit
A Straight Forward Strength of the Mayoral Model
•  Birmingham City Council
–  120 councillors
–  61 for a majority on the council
–  32 votes needed in the majority group to
become leader... YET...
–  Electorate of Birmingham: 650,000...
Local Governance Research Unit
Local Governance Research Unit
Manchester Combined Authority – Who Decides Who Governs?
•  The 1,845,121 electorate of the 10 constituent councils after a
competitive election campaign where different candidates - party
and independents - set out their policies and differing visions for the
area in an attempt to personify an artificial creation – the CA
OR
•  10 blokes (council leaders) meeting in smoke filled rooms?
OR
Local Governance Research Unit
All Referendum
•  At May 2016 52
referendums on elected
mayors
–  16 yes
–  36 No
–  6 on removing post of
elected mayor:
•  3 yes
•  3 No
Local Governance Research Unit
Elected Mayors in England.
Council
1st Election
Year
Current
Incumbent
Council
1st Election
Year
Current
Incumbent
Bedford
2002
Liberal Democrat
Mansfield
2002
Independent
Bristol
2012
Labour
Middlesbrough
2002
Labour
Copeland
2015
Independent
Newham
2002
Labour
Doncaster
2002
Labour
North Tyneside
2002
Labour
Hackney
2002
Labour
Salford
2012
Labour
Leicester City
2011
Labour
Torbay
2005
Conservative
Lewisham
2002
Labour
Tower Hamlets
2010
Labour
Liverpool
2012
Labour
Watford
(by election 11/6/15)
2002
Liberal Democrat
Local Governance Research Unit
3rd May 2012 Referendum
Council
Yes (%)
No (%)
Turnout
Electorate
Councillors
Birmingham
88,085 (42.2)
120,611 (57.8)
28.35
653,164
120
Bradford
53,949 (44.9)
66,283 (55.1)
35
341,126
90
Bristol
41,032 (53)
35,880 (47)
24
318,893
70
Coventry
22,619 (36.4)
39,483 (63.6)
26.6
236,818
54
Doncaster
42,196 (61.7)
25,879 (37.8)
30.5
224,678
63
Leeds
62,440 (36.7)
107,910 (63.3)
31
562,782
99
Manchester
42,677 (46.8)
48,593 (53.2)
24
370,453
96
Newcastle
24,630 (38.1)
40,089 (61.9)
32
203,512
78
Nottingham
20,943 (24.5)
28,320 (57.5)
23.9
207,312
55
Sheffield
44,571 (35)
82,890 (65)
32
390,890
84
Wakefield
27,610 (37.8)
45,357 (62.2)
28.84
257,530
63
Local Governance Research Unit
Mayoral composition
•  16 serving mayors
–  11 Labour
–  1 Conservative
–  2 Liberal Democrat
–  2 Independent
Currently: 4 Women (25%)
Female council leaders 14.7%
•  Former Mayors
•  6 Conservative
•  3 Labour
•  6 Independent
• 1 English Dem
North Tyneside: 3 Conservative
and 2 Labour mayors
Local Governance Research Unit
Mayoral Political Leadership
1. External political leadership
° TASKS:
- constructs a shared political vision
- sets out policy priorities and objectives
- develops and maintains a clearly identifiable political platform and trajectory
- constructs alliances and coalitions: Single-issues + broad policy platform
2. Internal political leadership
° TASK to provide:
- political leadership to councillors through clear political priorities and direction
- a focus for political decision-making, responsibility and accountability
- an identifiable governing administration
- the perception or reality of leading the party locally an dif not actual party leadership
then influence within the party
Local Governance Research Unit
Mayoral Civic Leadership
Leadership of communities of place and of interest
Forging a broad community identity
Acting in an ambassadorial & advocate role
Developing and articulating a knowledge of community
priorities
Reconciling competing demands, which pull in the direction of
different policy solutions or different visions
Forge a shared sense of civic pride and identity and influence
others
Local Governance Research Unit
Mayoral Corporate Leadership
Mayor constructs and sets the direction, policy and priorities of the
council as a public service machine
Mayor controls, directs and holds to account the council bureaucracy
(council also has a role in the latter)
Mayor must operate to ensure that the chief executive plays a
subordinate organisational leadership role to that of the mayor
Mayors focus on only that administrative detail that is necessary to
implement key priorities through the council bureaucracy, but
maintains a strategic view
Local Governance Research Unit
Mayoral problems: Not too much, but not enough power
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
Broadly the same powers as
council leaders
No new powers for mayors or
their councils
Restricted by lack of
appointment powers
Restricted by lack of powers
over the world outside the
council
Not key national political
players
•  No different treatment by
government or civil service
•  No real international profile
•  Opposition from among councillors
•  Bound by the constitutional status
of local government
•  Hindered by lack of trust of local
politics from the centre
Reflects the lack of genuine local self-government existing in England and
centralist attitudes
Local Governance Research Unit
Go for Broke on Mayors
•  The English directly elected mayor, by comparison with
many overseas counter-parts, is a weak model of local
governance, so allow your mayors:
–  to become the recognised ‘face’ of the area
–  to become firmly established as organisational leader
Local Governance Research Unit
New Powers: Powers over the Council
• 
• 
• 
Unlimited ability for mayors to form and appoint boards and commissions to advise
on mayoral policy, or take action delegated by the mayor, with the membership to be
drawn from inside or outside the council.
The mayoral cabinet to comprise wholly, or in part, of members appointed by the
mayor from either outside (non-councillors) or inside the council.
–  Mayoral cabinets not to be limited to 10 members
• 
Mayors to have appointment and dismissal powers over the council chief executive
and other top-tier officers (subject to confirmation hearing by overview and scrutiny).
• 
Mayoral budgets to not require the approval of full council, but to be subject to
detailed scrutiny by council to suggest changes and amendment.
Local Governance Research Unit
New Powers: Power over Others: 1
Responsibilities for the key areas of health, community safety, economic
development and transport to rest with the elected mayor
–  Mayors to co-ordinate strategic links between these areas to promote economic
success.
–  Mayoral responsibility for all local strategic policy and plans – which may require
devolution from central government – such as the Highways Agency.
–  Mayors to have membership of, or chairmanship of, any existing or new public
bodies created by government that are responsible for policy or decisions that
impact on the mayoral council area.
•  Alternatively, mayors to have appointment and dismissal powers over, staff,
board chairs and members (as appropriate) of any existing or new public
bodies created by government that are responsible for policy or decisions
that impact on the mayoral council area.
Local Governance Research Unit
New Powers: Power over Others: 2
• 
Elected mayors to replace Police and Crime Commissioners,– where more than one mayor
exists within one of the areas the role should be rotated between the elected mayors.
–  Alternatively, the elected mayor(s) appoint and dismiss the Police Commissioner (where
there is more than one mayor within an area they collectively act as an appointment /
dismissal panel).
• 
Mayors to have appointment and dismissal power over senior officers and chairman of boards in
relation to a range of other public (or private) bodies for example: hospital trusts, fire and rescue
authorities, LEPs, ports and docks, coast-guards, airports and other facilities.
• 
Mayors to have appointment and dismissal power over senior officer posts (and chairman of
boards) for those bodies listed in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health
(LGPIH) Act 2007 as having a ‘duty to co-operate’ (although this power should not be limited just
to those bodies and they are used here as an example).
Local Governance Research Unit
New Powers: Power over the Centre
• 
• 
All government departments taking any policy initiative or sponsoring any
legislation that impinges on local government are to have a legal duty to
consult with all elected mayors and to demonstrate how they have
responded to that consultation.
–  Mayors (and their councils) to be consulted, early within the policy and
decision-making processes by government if it is proposing change
which will affect any mayoral council and its communities.
Mayoral councils to have a legal right to challenge, through a specially
designed public process, any aspects of any legislation that relate to the
powers, duties, responsibilities, tasks and functions of local government.
–  Such challenge may result in mayoral exemption, or opt-out, from
policy change and legislation that lays down requirements on, or makes
changes to, non-mayoral councils.
Local Governance Research Unit
Local Governance Research Unit