Cities dash leader hopes

David Cameron’s hope of installing powerful elected mayors in major cities has been dashed by voters.

In a series of referendums across England, residents in nine cities rejected the new posts.

Mr Cameron had thrown his weight behind the policy – but only voters in Bristol embraced the idea.

The prime minister tried to use the example of London Mayor Boris Johnson to inspire enthusiasm for the idea, saying he wanted a “Boris in every city”.

Birmingham, Newcastle, Wakefield, Sheffield, Manchester, Nottingham, Coventry, Bradford and Leeds all voted against having

“There has never been a true coalition policy for it”

mayors. Only Bristol voted for an elected mayor, but on a turnout of 24%. In Doncaster, voters opted to retain their elected mayor.

Lib Dem MP John Hemming campaigned against the creation of an elected mayor in Birmingham. He said: “People don’t like the idea of concentrating all the power in one individual’s hands.”

Stuart Drummond, the directly elected mayor of Hartlepool, blamed Westminster coalition divisions for the failure to secure support for mayors.

“Because the Lib Dems have always been against the mayoral system, there has never been a true coalition policy for it and it just seems to be one of David Cameron’s little hobby horses,” he said.