Mayor of Greater Manchester

Mayor of Greater Manchester
Appointer	Electorate of Greater Manchester
Formation	Proposed for 2017

The Mayor of Greater Manchester is a planned directly elected political post responsible for the strategic government of Greater Manchester, including transport, housing, planning, policing and skills. The mayor's powers will be similar to those of the Mayor of London. The creation of the Mayor of Greater Manchester has been agreed between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Greater Manchester's 10 district council leaders, but requires new primary legislation. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority is proposed to continue, but the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner is expected to be rolled into the new mayoralty. The first election is expected to take place in 2017.

Background

The ten local authorities which make up Greater Manchester work together as the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which carries out work through bodies including Transport for Greater Manchester and the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority. There is a directly elected Mayor of Salford for the City of Salford. In 2008, Bury rejected a proposal for an elected mayor for the borough only. In 2012, Manchester rejected a similar proposal for the City of Manchester only. There is also a Lord Mayor of Manchester which is a ceremonial post.

Timescale

The proposal for an elected mayor was announced in November 2014 by George Osborne. The creation of an elected mayor for Greater Manchester will require new primary legislation. Elections for the first mayor are expected to take place in 2017. In 2015 an interim mayor will be appointed by the combined authority leaders.

Powers and functions

Powers of the mayor will include transport, housing, planning, policing and skills. The position of Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner would be subsumed into the mayoral position.

There will be a county-wide spatial planning strategy, similar to the London Plan. The mayor would oversee the administration of a £300m housing fund with the intention of delivering an additional 15,000 homes over a 10-year period. The mayor will be responsible for the administration of the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority, which is the largest waste disposal authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the waste of 2.7 million people.

Transport

See also: Transport in Manchester

The mayor would gain significant powers over transport in Greater Manchester which is arguably the largest transport-connected area outside of London with an orbital motorway, largest tram system in the United Kingdom, busiest urban railway group and the busiest airport outside of the London region by a significant margin. Responsibilities include overseeing road management (transferred to TfGM in 2009) which include road safety, bus lanes and congestion as well as influence over bus services, the Metrolink tram system and cycling schemes.

The mayor will have the ability to franchise bus routes away from central government, a power Transport for Greater Manchester has sought in response to dwindling bus passenger figures. The falling figures in a county where population is increasing contrasts with Greater London where bus patronage has increased with franchise powers. Bus passengers have faced inflation-busting fare increases over the past decade whilst Stagecoach Manchester claim bus journeys take 40% longer in 2013 than in 1993 due to road congestion - which has pushed passengers to alternative forms of transport such as rail, tram and bicycle as well as back into cars.

The vast majority of bus services in Greater Manchester are operated by only two companies; Stagecoach Manchester and First Greater Manchester - the former of which is Stagecoach's largest division. The takeover of smaller bus companies such as Finglands and Bluebird have frustrated TfGM as well as a perceived stubborn attitude towards transport improvements by bus companies - Stagecoach Manchester have consistently questioned transport improvements such as the Metrolink line to Trafford Park with TfGM believing such warnings to be motivated by economic self-interest as well as general warnings about devolution. The chair of TfGM has gone as far to publicly state that bus companies in Greater Manchester need "their monopolies busted open" to implement new ideas, improve punctuality and accountability, increase patronage and provide commuters an improved alternative.

Manchester is also served by the Metrolink tram system. The network, which is now the largest light rail system in the United Kingdom, covers seven of the ten Greater Manchester boroughs. The system has grown at an vast rate since 2009 growing from 20 stations to 92 stations and the system has been called unreliable under an ambitious expansion programme however patronage and reliability appear to gradually growing. Under the agreement, £30 million a year will be provided to TfGM over a 30-year period which all but guarantees the construction of £350 million Trafford Park line with construction expected to start in 2016/17.

It is not known if the mayor's mandate will include strategic influence over the Manchester Airports Group, which is partly owned by the people of Greater Manchester, and has an asset value of nearly £4 billion. The Group provides a significant annual dividend to the ten councils of Greater Manchester (usually over £15 million) and is a key player in the aviation industry in the United Kingdom, owning not only Manchester Airport but London Stansted and East Midlands.

Governance arrangements

Unlike the directly elected London Assembly scrutiny structure that operates in Greater London, the Mayor of Greater Manchester would sit on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority alongside the ten council leaders as the eleventh member. The council leaders will form part of the mayor's cabinet, each with a clear portfolio of responsibilities. The mayor could be vetoed if a majority vote against any proposals put forward, and the spatial planning strategy requires a unanimous vote of the mayor's cabinet. The existing scrutiny arrangement of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority will continue and will be extended to cover the mayor and the new areas of responsibility.