The word “mayor”, in the English governance landscape, refers to many different roles. Until the turn of the 21st century, it mostly described non-partisan ceremonial leaders of towns and boroughs in England and Wales, most often elected by councillors. The further ceremonial title of Lord Mayor was conferred by royal letters patent on the leaders of the nation’s biggest cities.
Directly elected mayors, by contrast, are a new phenomenon. The first, introduced in 2000, was the Mayor of London – currently Sadiq Khan – who is responsible for the Greater London Authority, a collection of 19 local authorities.
Two distinct types of elected mayor have since emerged. Local authority mayors, like Marvin Rees in Bristol and Paul Dennett in Salford, are put in place by voters within the boundaries of a single local authority.
