The Times - Every city should have its own Boris
Catalysts for urban renewal: more elected mayors may be the solution to London’s dominance, by Tim Hames

Yet what truly matters is that this was the year when the mayoralty as an institution came of age. It has taken two terms of Ken Livingstone for Londoners to work out what it does, what it is reasonable to ask from it and for it to attract high- profile contenders across the spectrum. The Scottish Parliament needed an equivalent length of time to take root but under Alex Salmond and the SNP it too has unquestionably done so. The turnout in the capital was 45 per cent, staggering by the standards of local elections, and the media coverage was exhaustive. The expectation of the mayor has become that he should be able to cut crime, recast public transport and frame planning practice in his own fashion.

Aww, London and other British locals, you’re getting so grown-up now!

Why have these other cities not adopted mayors? Simple. Vested interests oppose this. Councillors loathe the idea of being marginalised while one single individual exercises a semi-Napoleonic status. MPs are also not that wild about no longer being the king of the castle in their neighbourhoods. It is an irony of London itself that if the GLC had not been curtly abolished by Margaret Thatcher, then it would probably have been impossible for Mr Blair to have created a directly elected mayor as the GLC would have fought fiercely to prevent this new position sidelining it. If it is left to the councils in Britain’s other cities, no new mayors will ever emerge.

That is why, paradoxically, if bottom-up local democracy is to be revived here then top-down action is essential. Mayors can only be established today either at the behest of councils (fat chance, in the main) or via a complicated locally inspired referendum. This is too restrictive. It would be better for both Gordon Brown and David Cameron (and Nick Clegg if he is brave, for his party will not much care for it) to acknowledge that the directly elected mayoralty has shown its worth in London and must be duplicated in the 19 next-biggest cities in the country.

That is so bizarre. You have all these republican types shouting that the monarchy and such need to “modernize”, but they haven’t even got elected mayors yet?

Date: May 5th, 2008 · Comments RSS · Tags: Politics