cock o’ the north
With Manchester’s shape-shifting Andy Burnham now positioning himself as Labour’s heir apparent it made me consider where did the so-called metro-mayors come from and what do they do exactly?
When he was chancellor, Gideon Osborne (aka George) pushed for England’s larger urban regions to have their own directly elected individuals, as he believed it would serve the Tory’s interest without resorting to blatant gerrymandering. His idea was that strong, visible and recognisable mayors would grab a foothold in Labour dominated areas, as BoJo had done so spectacularly in London. Needless to say, it didn’t work out quite like that and over 50% of the population is now represented by largely left-ish-leaning metro mayors.
The power each one has at their behest is varied and, at times, bewilderingly complex. There are four basic options, from Level 1, a limited role in delivering public services, to Level 4, covering powers over transport, local roads, urban regeneration and allocating economic development funds. Beyond that and importantly, they have no direct legislative power or executive control over local government functions such as housing, schools, roads, waste collection or social care. Having said that, Andy Street, the ex-boss of John Lewis and the then-West Midlands Conservative metro-mayor, did manage to somehow squeeze #10bn of extra state funding for transport, housing and skills when Dishy Rishi wanted to be seen to be levelling-up.
The tricky thing about devolution is that, in reality, political parties frequently pay little more than lip-service to it and Westminster does not want to see any of its centralised tax & spend powers diminished. Metro mayors, often seen as non-partisan pragmatists where place comes first and party second, are viewed with fear and scepticism as they seek to relocate power to their own fiefdoms.
It’s still too early to fully appreciate the effect, if any, these positions are having but Liverpool’s Steve Rotherham, Tees Valley’s Ben Houchen and Greater Manchester’s Burnham are all implementing local transport, broadband and regeneration projects that could positively impact the communities they serve. Furthermore, in a 2024 poll by the Centre for Cities, 74% of people could name their mayor, while only 43% could name their MP and it highlighted increased support being given for more powers. Metro mayors seem to provide a single face in a way that multiple MPs struggle to do.
NB Often described as the Mayor of Manchester, it may surprise you this isn’t Andy Burnham, but actually Yasmine Dar, a city counsellor!
