The case for elected mayors has not been scrutinised sufficiently. The imposition of an elected mayor on Greater Manchester in particular risks undermining a delicate local political balance and is an act of elitism that might well backfire.
'Mayors’ seem to have become the default answer of many in the political elite to the problems of local government and governance in the UK, or more specifically England.
Linked to the idea of English devolution as an answer to Scottish ‘home rule’ this has become a heady brew. But maybe it’s time to ask some sober questions about this project of ‘Devo Manc’, at least in terms of the proposed system of government for Manchester.
My argument is, simply put:
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