On 4 May 2017, six metro mayors (Box 1) were elected following the creation of these new roles by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016. In many ways, the decision by the Conservative Party to devolve powers from Westminster to metropolitan areas is a curious one. It is an admission that Margaret Thatcher got it wrong in the 1980s when she abolished the seven metropolitan councils that provided regional government in the UK in areas such as Merseyside, Manchester, Tyne Tees and the West Midlands? It is also curious as since Thatcher, the polling evidence shows that the Tories are notoriously weak in metropolitan areas, but the results saw four of the six citywide regions electing Tory mayors. This raises the questions: what is the purpose of metro mayors and will they be a success?
In May 2017, metro mayors were elected in the citywide regions of Greater Manchester (Lab), Liverpool City Region (Lab), West Midlands (Tory), Tees Valley (Tory), West of England (Tory), and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough (Tory). Sheffield City region will elect its mayor in 2018.
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