LOCAL GOVERNMENT

English city and
regional mayors
By Andrew Stevens, City Mayors Fellow*

British mayors
ON THIS PAGE: Local government in England | Elected regional mayors in England | Elected city mayors in England

ON OTHER PAGES:
Local government in the UK | London Boroughs | City of London | Mayors, parties, politics

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Local government in England
February 2024: In London and several metropolitan areas, England’s cities are led by elected Mayors, while all but 14 of the 296 local councils in England are run by a Council Leader elected by their fellow councillors. Since 2002 a number have been led by mayors elected directly by local voters. Most of the local authority elected mayors in England have responsibility for all local services, with two district council mayors responsible for only environment, planning and housing. In London and the mostly metropolitan area Combined Authorities, the Mayor is responsible for transport, economic development, skills and spatial planning, as well as other fields as devolved. All of England’s elected mayors were previously elected for four-year terms by the instant run-off Supplementary Vote, from 2023 this has been by a simple majority (‘First Past the Post’). There are no elected mayors in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

There are 296 municipal units in England, consisting of all-purpose single-tier London Boroughs (32, as well as the City of London Corporation), metropolitan boroughs (36) and unitary authorities (63), and 164 non-metropolitan districts existing below 21 upper-tier county councils. In some cases, non-metropolitan districts can be known as borough or city councils, while some London Borough, metropolitan borough and unitary councils can also be known as ‘city’ councils. The single-tier councils all have the same responsibilities, but their designation reflects particular waves of reorganisation: London Boroughs (1965), metropolitan boroughs (1986) and unitary authorities (1995-1998, 2009 and 2019-23). Non-metropolitan districts perform mainly environmental, planning and housing functions in contrast to the all-purpose authorities that also provide education and social services.

In the majority of these 296 councils, all but 14 are currently headed by a Council Leader elected from among the council (previously annually, since 2010 for four-year terms). All councils are elected on four-year cycles but the type of elections (all out, half of seats or third of seats) is determined by each council, leading to a variety of election types across England (except in London and most Metropolitan Boroughs, which work on a single fixed all-out cycle).

The directly elected Mayor of London (since 2000) is included among England’s elected mayors, but as the Greater London Authority (GLA) is a strategic regional body that does not provide local authority services, the London mayor is considered separately for most other purposes. Since 2011, Combined Authorities (CAs) consisting of leaders of constituent local authorities have been introduced to mostly metropolitan areas of England. Among their core responsibilities are transport, economic development, skills, housing investment and spatial planning, with other fields devolved as agreed with central government (e.g. social care, criminal justice).

Under the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, ‘Metro Mayors’ were elected for the first time in 2017 to lead several of these Combined Authorities, in areas covering Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and Manchester, as well as Cambridge/Peterborough and Teesside. In May 2018, a metro mayor election was held for the Sheffield City Region (now South Yorkshire) CA, followed by North of Tyne (Newcastle and surrounds) a year later and most recently West Yorkshire (Leeds/Bradford) in 2021.

Under the Local Government Act 2000, any local council in England can hold a referendum on the introduction of a directly elected mayor, either by citizen petition or council decision. Since the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, local councils have also been allowed to introduce the system without a referendum, so far only two, Leicester and Liverpool, have done so.  A number of councils have abolished their elected mayoralties since 2009:

There have been four local by-elections for elected mayor posts since their England-wide introduction in 2002: North Tyneside in 2003 (Chris Morgan resignation over child sex images charges), Bedford in 2009 (Frank Branston death in office), Tower Hamlets in 2015 (Lutfur Rahman removal from office by election court) and Hackney in 2023 (Philip Glanville resignation due to association with child sex offender).


Local authorities where decisions were taken
to abolish the posts of directly elected mayors


Local authority Elected mayors
in situ
Elected mayors abolished
Stoke on Trent From 2002 to 2009 Mayor and Council Manager model discontinued by national government and recommended for abolition due to poor governance in the city
Hartlepool From 2002 to 2013 Council voted to hold local referendum in 2012, negative result
Torbay From 2005 to 2019 Council voted to hold local referendum in 2015, negative result
Copeland From 2015 to 2023 District amalgamated under reorganisation of the county
Liverpool From 2012 to 2023 Council voted to abolish elected mayoralty in 2022
Bristol From 2012 to 2024 Council voted to hold local referendum in 2022, negative result


One factor in several of these cases included the overlap between metro mayors and elected mayors of their constituent local authorities (Bristol, Liverpool). Referendums on elected mayoralties have however seen the system retained in a number of authorities in polls held under the Local Government Act 2000 (which requires a referendum to be held on abolition in order to reverse the mandate if the post was originally introduced following a local referendum).

Local authorities where decisions were taken
to retain the posts of directly elected mayors


Local authority Referendum Elected mayors retained
Doncaster 2012 Council voted to hold local referendum following citizen petition
Middlesbrough 2013 Council voted to hold referendum
North Tyneside 2016 Mayoral election pledge to hold referendum
Newham 2021 Mayoral election pledge to hold referendum and citizen petition
Tower Hamlets 2021 Council voted to hold referendum following citizen petition


The former Conservative-led coalition government legislated for referendums to be held in May 2012 on the introduction of elected mayor posts in England’s 10 largest cities, with only Bristol assenting to the proposal (a city referendum which backed abolishing the office was later held in May 2022). It also introduced directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners to replace England’s police authorities (previously centrally-appointed boards) from November 2012. In London, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire this is a mayoral function, however.

There are no directly elected mayors in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The devolved governments of Scotland and Northern Ireland have chosen not to introduce the system, while in Wales only one local referendum on introducing an elected mayor has been held to date.


Elected regional (metro) mayors in England
Parties:
Labour – centre-left;
Liberal Democrats – centrist;
Conservative – centre-right;

Combined authority
Mayor
Previous jobs
Allowance p/a
(2022/2023)**
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Popl: 807,000
Internet
Nik Johnson (Mr)
Party: Labour; Elected 2021, Next elections 2025
Hospital doctor and councillor
£86,121
Greater Manchester
Popl: 2,733,000
Internet
Andy Burnham (Mr)
Party: Labour; Elected 2017; Re-elected 2021; Next elections 2024
Political adviser, Cabinet Minister, Member of Parliament (2001-2017); Shortlisted for the 2021 World Mayor Prize
£110,000
Liverpool City Region
Popl: 1,517,000
Internet
Steve Rotheram (Mr)
Party: Labour; Elected 2017; Re-elected 2021; Next elections 2024
Builder, councillor and Lord Mayor, Member of Parliament (2010-2017)
£84,298
London
Popl: 8,547,000
Internet
Sadiq Khan (Mr)
Party: Labour; Elected 2016; Re-elected 2021; Next elections 2024
Lawyer, councillor, minister, Member of Parliament (2005-2016)
£154,963
North of Tyne
Popl: 816,000
Internet
Jamie Driscoll (Mr)
Party: Independent; Elected 2019; Next elections 2024
Engineer, software company director and councillor
£65,000
South Yorkshire
Popl: 1,820,000
Internet
Oliver Coppard (Mr)
Party: Labour; Elected May 2022; Next elections 2024
Parliamentary researcher, local government officer, communications adviser
£79,000
Tees Valley
Popl: 702,000
Internet
Ben Houchen (Mr)
Party: Conservative; Elected 2017; Re-elected 2021; Next elections 2024
Lawyer, business owner and councillor
£65,000
West Midlands
Popl: 2,808,000
Internet 
Andy Street (Mr)
Party: Conservative; Elected 2017; Re-elected 2021; Next elections 2024
Business leader
£95,000
West of England
Popl: 1,104,000
Internet
Dan Norris (Mr)
Party: Labour; Elected 2021; Next elections 2025
Teacher, social worker, councillor and Member of Parliament (1997-2010)
£77,000
West Yorkshire
Popl: 2,320,000
Internet
Tracy Brabin (Ms)
Party: Labour; Elected 2021; Next elections 2024
Actress, screenwriter, Member of Parliament (2016-2021)
£106,837


Elected city mayors in England
Parties:
Labour – centre-left;
Liberal Democrats – centrist;
Conservative – centre-right;
Aspire - populist

Council
Mayor
Previous jobs
Allowance p/a
(2022/2023)**
Bedford
(Popl: 155,700)
Internet
(Unitary Authority - Borough)
Tom Wootton (Mr)
Party: Conservative Elected 2023; Next elections 2027
Local councillor and farmer
£63,803
Bristol
(Popl: 428,200)
Internet
(Unitary Authority - City)
Marvin Rees (Mr)
Party: Labour; Elected 2016; Re-elected 2021, Post to be abolished in 2024
Journalist and public official
£86,439
Croydon
Popl: (385,000)
Internet
(London Borough)
Jason Perry (Mr)
Party: Conservative: Elected 2022; Next elections 2026
Local councillor and cabinet member for regeneration, small business owner
£84,123
Doncaster
(Popl: 291,600)
Internet
(Metropolitan Borough)
Ros Jones (Ms)
Party: Labour; Elected 2013; Re-elected 2017 and 2021; Next elections 2025
Local councillor and public accountant;
Winner of 2018 World Mayor Commendation
£67,236
Hackney
(Popl: 212,200)
Internet
(London Borough)
Caroline Woodley (Ms)
Party: Labour;
Elected in a by-election on 9 November 2023 after the resignation of her Labour predecessor Philip Glanville.
Parent, local councillor, cabinet member for families, parks and leisure
£89,224
Leicester
(Popl: 294,700)
Internet
(Unitary Authority - City)
Peter Soulsby (Mr)
Party: Labour; Elected 2011; Re-elected 2015, 2019 and 2023; Next elections 2027
Teacher, Council Leader and Member of Parliament (2005-11)
£78,411
Lewisham
(Popl: 261,600)
Internet
(London Borough)
Brenda Dacres (Ms)
Party: Labour; Acting mayor following the resignation of Damien Egan in January 2024. By-election on 7 March 2024
Deputy mayor and borough councillor
£80,759
Mansfield
(Popl: 100,600)
Internet
(District Council)
Andy Abrahams (Mr)
Party: Labour; Elected 2019; Re-elected 2023; Next elections 2027
Engineer, teacher, civil servant
£49,377
Middlesbrough
(Popl: 139,000
Internet
(Unitary Authority - Borough)
Chris Cooke (Mr)
Party: Labour; Elected 2023; Next elections 2027
Councillor and charity worker
£63,560
Newham
(Popl: 249,500)
Internet
(London Borough)
Rokhsana Fiaz (Ms)
Party: Labour; Elected 2018; Re-elected 2022; Next elections 2026
Media adviser and charity CEO, councillor
£87,997
North Tyneside
(Popl: 196,000)
Internet
(Metropolitan Borough)
Norma Redfearn (Mrs)
Party: Labour; Elected 2013; Re-elected 2017 and 2021; Next elections 2024
Teacher
£68,499
Salford
(Popl: 229,000)
Internet
(Metropolitan Borough - City)
Paul Dennett (Mr)
Party: Labour; Elected 2016; Re-elected 2021; Next elections 2024
Call centre worker, Assistant Mayor  
£69,903
Tower Hamlets
(Popl: 220,500)
Internet
(London Borough)
Lutfur Rahman (Mr)
Party: Aspire; Elected 2022; Next elections 2026
Lawyer (disbarred), council leader, Elected Mayor (suspended 2015)
£80,579
Watford
(Popl: 80,000)
Internet
(District Council)
Peter Taylor (Mr)
Party: Liberal Democrats; Elected 2018: Re-elected 2022; Next elections 2026
Teacher, Parliamentary researcher, councillor and Deputy Mayor
£73,607

*The research was original carried out in 2021 and updated in January 2024.

** All salary data shown has been cross-referenced across a range of sources and is to the best of our knowledge accurate in December 2023. FULL SURVEY

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