Member Article

North East businesses given case for elected mayors

North East business leaders heard from Minister for Cities Greg Clark MP, and Lord Andrew Adonis on why Newcastle should have an elected mayor.

As part of the ‘Yes to Mayors’ campaign, Mr Clark and Lord Adonis outlined the case for Newcastle, suggesting that most of the democratic world had adopted the elected mayor model, and that Newcastle needs to be competitive in a global marketplace.

Mr Clark said that through his experience in Whitehall, he recognised the city was one of the country’s “best kept secrets” and that it “spoke with a whisper, when really it should be speaking with a roar.”

He commented: “Increasingly, Newcastle is in competition with Frankfurt, Milan and Bangalore, we need to have a Mayor to stand up and speak for the city around the world.

“Also nationally, the Prime Minister has said he is going to form a cabinet of big city mayors. We know that by the end of this year it’s quite likely that most of Britain’s big cities will be sat around the cabinet table, and it is crucial for Newcastle that they should be at that table.”

Former Leader of Newcastle City Council, David Faulkner presented the case against elected mayors and what he saw as a ‘forced’ referendum on the matter.

He highlighted the North East as having fantastic examples of civic leadership under the current system, which he said while not perfect, was not broken.

Mr Faulkner was critical of what he called the “personality contest” creeping into politics, and suggested the elected mayor model was divisive in this. He said he saw “no real added value” in changing the system, and that he was “troubled by the constant analogy of London, which is wholly different to Newcastle.”

He also encouraged assembled members of the Chamber to look at the results council leaders had achieved, not at the spin, as the powers enjoyed by Boris Johnson over fire and police were “not on the table.”

Lord Adonis suggested the system could lead the way for wider ‘metro-mayors’, responsible for the wider region, which was a point endorsed by Mr Faulkner, who said the region needed to “break the deadlock of parochialism.”

Mr Clark pointed out that city mayors could wield “soft powers,” exercising leadership beyond the their elected areas.

He suggested Boris Johnson had extended influence over outlying authorities because he was seen as a “legitimate spokesman,” and that he saw no reason for a similar model not to work in the North East.

In a follow-up question and answer session, businesses quizzed Mr Clark and Lord Adonis as to whether the changes could be guaranteed not to raise overheads.

The Minister said one newly elected Mayor had decided to reduce costs by merging the Mayor and CEO role. It was clear though that this was one approach taken by one Mayor, rather than a requirement for the role.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .