Elected Mayors are, apparently, the answer for our big cities. The Coalition has decreed that on 3^rd May the citizens of Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Coventry, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham and Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Wakefield be invited to participate in a referendum. The choice is whether they stick with the current model of local government or switch to a Directly Elected Mayor. Liverpool and Leicester have already committed to the Elected Mayor model without a referendum, as has Salford. But if Elected Mayors are the solution, then what is the problem? Continue Reading →