The Northern Agenda: The city that's ditching its mayor

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By ROB PARSONS - July 21 2022

Looking around Northern politics it seems elected mayors are all the rage, with Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram elected in the North West and 2017 and four other 'metro mayors' aiming to be powerful figureheads for their regions following on behind.

And at a more local level, there are directly elected mayors for cities, towns and districts too, with areas like Middlebrough, Doncaster and Salford all preferring the mayoral system to having an indirectly-elected cabinet and leader making decisions about local services.

But while metro mayors are becoming central figures in the levelling up debate and a focus for efforts to devolve powers outside Westminster, are locals becoming disenchanted with the idea of city mayors?

In Bristol the mayoral model is being abandoned in 2024, and last night Liverpool councillors voted to remove the position of elected city mayor - a position currently held by Joanne Anderson - after 10 years. The decision will take effect from next May's elections.

As Liam Thorp of the Liverpool Echo reports there were angry rows at the full council meeting as the city's ruling Labour group voted successfully for the mayoralty to be replaced by a council leader and cabinet model that was in place up until 2012.

That's despite that particular option coming bottom of three potential governance systems in a recent public consultation costing £140,000.

Speaking against the Labour move and calling for a public vote on the