Why Scotland has no enthusiasm for elected regional mayors despite Andy Burnham 'held back' claims

There is no real enthusiasm for directly elected regional mayors in Scotland like those in Manchester and Liverpool, a senior local government figure has said.

Councillor Steven Heddle, vice-president of Cosla, the council umbrella body, raised concerns such a role would simply become another layer of government. It comes after Andy Burnham, who has been mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017, warned Scottish cities are being "held back". He said cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh would have a "bigger voice" if they had an elected provost or mayor.

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester | Getty Images

There are ten metro mayors in England and Scottish Labour has proposed introducing similar roles in Scotland.

But Cllr Heddle poured cold water on the idea. Speaking at an event on Tuesday at the Festival of Politics in the Scottish Parliament, he raised concerns about the "impact of another structure". 

He said: "There is a risk, or maybe a reality, that this would become more a presidential role, and you have to ask where the connection with local democracy is at this point.

"I think in Scotland, and the polling informally with political groups at Cosla, there's not really enthusiasm to return to regionalisation, and there's not really an enthusiasm for mayors either."

Cllr Heddle, who was previously the leader of Orkney Islands Council, added: "We do see councils coming together as city regions and as areas in regional growth deals for positive reasons that are showing mutual benefit, and as long as mutual benefit continues, we will come together consensually to do this. And I think this is the important thing, that it should be something that's allowed to happen organically."

Mr Burnham visited Edinburgh last week with Steve Rotheram, the mayor of the Liverpool City Region. In a newspaper interview, he said: "Our perception would be, perhaps, the Scottish cities are being held back, or disempowered, and are not making their presence felt."

He added: "You look at a great city like Glasgow, which is pretty much the same as Liverpool or Manchester in terms of its heritage, its people and its influences. It's a working-class industrial city with strengths and challenges.

"We would both say, if there was an elected provost, or mayor, of Glasgow, we would be talking to that person every couple of weeks. Glasgow would have a bigger voice, I think, both in Scotland and the UK.”