Voters with metro mayors more likely to believe they are doing well, Labour Together report shows

Voters in mayoral areas where the mayor benefits from greater powers in a more advanced devolution deal are likelier to think their mayor is performing well in office, a new report has suggested.

The research from campaign group Labour Together found that mayors are increasingly some of the best recognised figures in British politics, with 50% of people who live in a mayoral region able to identify their mayor.

It also found that areas such as Greater Manchester where mayors have more wide-reaching powers saw a greater sense among voters that their mayors were doing well.

Labour Together noted how mayors “have the potential to create a virtuous cycle of trust” in politics.

It reads: “Elected mayors with responsibility over key policy areas can help address voter apathy, and revitalise communities. And we need not simply speculate about the role mayors could play: elected mayors, in power across many parts of the country, are already delivering for their communities.”

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The report comes as a growing number of regions in England are represented by metro mayors – with two more combined authorities set to have inaugural mayoral elections next year.

Of the incumbent metro mayors in England, all but one are members of Labour – including Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham and the West Midlands’ Richard Parker. The Tees Valley’s Ben Houchen is the only exception.

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