Cameron urges mayors as way to boost jobs

David Cameron claimed yesterday that “nothing we can do in Westminster” to boost growth in the regions could compete with having an “energetic champion” for each major English city in the form of a directly-elected mayor.

Mr Cameron was speaking in Bristol, one of 10 cities which will hold referendums next week on whether to introduce London-style elected Mayors to lead their councils in the future.

Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford and Wakefield will be among the places holding polls at the same time as the local council elections on May 3.

The Prime Minister wants voters to support the measure and has previously hinted that those cities which decide to bring in elected mayors could win new powers and funding from Whitehall.

He spoke yesterday of the fundamental economic and political changes which any city voting “yes” is likely to experience.

“Let’s be clear what this moment means,” Mr Cameron said. “It’s not some trivial re-structure or fiddling about.

“It’s about more investment across our country. More jobs for our workers. More life in our political system. It’s a once-in-a-generation chance to change the way our country is run.”

Mr Cameron offered “three big reasons” why he believes elected mayors would be a positive step for English cities.

He said mayors would offer more accountability; would boost the local economy by acting as a “sledgehammer for economic growth” who can “smash through bureaucracy and petty rules to get things done”; and would finally start to redress the power imbalance between London and the regions.

“For far too long we’ve seen opportunity, wealth, industry and influence weighted in London,” he said.

“There’s been a yawning gap between North and South.

“Some people would say that is Government’s job to sort out - move some money around; invest in these places.

“And yes, we’re doing that. Bringing in high speed rail; a regional growth fund; enterprise zones all over the country.

“But frankly nothing we do in Westminster – no policy we pass or investment we make – can compete with having one energetic champion on the ground, whose round-the-clock, unrelenting focus is on seeing their city succeed.

“So our dream is to have real heavyweight, influential figures in the North, the Midlands and the West – ones who can give their city a distinctive identity, who can fight their corner, and who will help rebalance our country.”

Mr Cameron’s words come as a new report by a leading think-tank today draws a detailed picture of the enormity of the roles which the new wave of city mayors will be taking on if voters back the measure next week.

A Mayor of Birmingham, the study says, would be overseeing a city-wide workforce of nearly half a million people and command a budget similar to that of a major Government department.

Leeds would be the next-largest economic area for a mayor after London and Birmingham, according to the study by the Centre for Cities group.

But the think tank warns there is still precious little clarity over which powers will be available to the new mayors, and echoes previous recommendations that each mayor’s area of influence might need to be extended in the future to cover a wider economic area such as a city region – the so-called “metro mayor” model.

The think-tank’s chief executive, Alexandra Jones, said: “This data provides a snapshot of the size of the job mayors will face in the cities that elect them.

“Like council leaders, they will have a big job to do and it still remains to be seen what powers will be devolved.

“At the very least we think they should make decisions over transport and planning, that are of strategic importance for growth. This is where effective decision-making can really shape the economic fortunes of cities.”

“In the short term, mayors will need to focus on building excellent relationships with neighbouring authorities to ensure decisions on major planning, skills and transport policies are not restricted by political boundaries.

“By the time of the next electoral cycle in 2016, we hope that national Government will allow those cities with the appetite for it to introduce metro mayors.”