A new mayor for Greater Manchester has just been agreed with 10 council leaders in the region - George Osborne apparently made it a condition of greater power over transport, housing, health and social care. Pretty amazing change to democracy all sorted out behind closed doors with no reference to voters. The idea may in the end turn out to be brilliant, welcomed by people and a model for future devolution to more cities, but it is a pretty strange political process that delivered it. Two years ago Manchester voted against a more modest proposal for an elected city mayor. Today they are being forced to have a Greater Manchester Mayor anyway, with more power, all delivered in a political stitch up. A strangely anti-democratic way to bring in a democratic reform. A very British benevolent dictatorship? A sort of I really insist you take more powers for yourselves. Of course the powers could have come without the concentrated power of an elected mayor - but I guess politicians like the idea of single charismatic leaders rather than collegiate processes.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 09:57:56 +0000
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