Controversial plans to turn leaders of big English city councils into ‘shadow mayors’ have been dropped from the Localism Bill.
A provision that would have seen these mayors additionally act as chief executives was also scrapped.Local government minister Baroness Hanham told the House of Lords the government had listened to peers’ concerns about shadow mayors and mayors acting as chief executives.
‘We are keen to build on the common ground and consensus that the Bill has enjoyed,’ she said.
The provision would have conferred mayoral powers on sitting city leaders pending referendums on whether mayoralties should be created.
It drew criticism from all sides of the Lords, and several of the leaders concerned also objected to the idea.
Shadow mayors would have affectedBirmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Coventry, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Wakefield.
Hanham said: ‘The government will be pleased to support amendments that have the effect of deleting from the Bill mayoral management arrangements; that is, mayors as chief executives and the concept of shadow mayors.’
She said this would not prevent councils from choosing to delete the post of chief executive, since they already had the power to do this. Only the ‘head of paid service’ is a statutory post.
Lord Beecham, the former leader of the Local Government Association Labour group, said shadow mayors and mayors acting as chief executives had been ‘two rather absurd propositions, of which, I think in all fairness, ministers were not necessarily the authors. The final outcome will be warmly received.’
