Labour must drop its scepticism about metro mayors if it wants to deliver change
Alexandra Jones writes in the Staggers about the new Labour candidates for Mayor in Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and the West Midlands.
Alexandra Jones writes in the Staggers about the new Labour candidates for Mayor in Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and the West Midlands.
While polls suggest that Labour faces an uphill battle to win the next General Election, the party took an important step this week in its bid to secure power in some of the UK’s biggest city regions, with yesterday’s announcement of Andy Burnham and Siôn Simon as its candidates for metro mayor in Greater Manchester and West Midlands, and Steve Rotheram securing the Liverpool nomination today.
Given the travails of the national party, these elections (due to take place in May 2017) may represent Labour’s best opportunity of governing, certainly in the short-term. But despite being clear favourites to win in their respective cities next year, Burnham and Simon both face a significant challenge in raising the national profile of these jobs and overcoming lingering scepticism about the new mayoral roles they are running for.
Read the rest of the article on the Staggers.
