Candidates for the Greater Manchester combined authority mayoral elections in May 2024.
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The lessons from the mayoralties writ-large give a good indicator of how the UK’s political sands have shifted in recent years.
Since May 2024, an elected mayor of the north-east has been leading a new authority spanning Northumberland, Tyne & Wear and County Durham.
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Years of political turbulence, economic shocks and the failure to ‘level up’ as pledged have turned English devolution into a key political and constitutional issue
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham leaves a mayoral election polling station in May 2021.
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When directly elected mayors doggedly advocate for their city-region, they can make things happen, regardless of budgetary and devolution constraints.