White paper: Devolution and good mayoral governance 

Directly-Elected Mayors  (DEMs) have been a feature of executive governance in England for more than two decades but their work has been comparatively little-studied (with the possible exception of Bristol’s two mayoralties). Despite Government’s focus on them as a key component of the devolution framework, outside of combined authorities they are not especially common.

Now, however, the Government’s plans on devolution places them centre-stage both for local councils and combined authorities.

We are delighted to publish this paper with the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) which explores the subject of directly elected Mayors in English (DEMs) local government, and as a feature of English combined authorities.

Questions we explore are:

• What makes for a “good” Mayor?
• Are the accountability systems and checks and balances we have in place for DEMs fit for purpose and proportionate?

To discuss any of the issues in this report please do get in touch with Amardeep Gill or Scott Dorling or your usual Public Sector team representative.