The resistance to elected mayors shows how badly they’re needed

The old political establishment in the cities is fighting back against the idea of city mayors. They know that a directly elected mayor threatens their traditional power base. As Jill Sherman reports in The Times today,

‘In Nottingham, the Labour council has put up posters around the city to demonstrate its opposition while the Labour group has sent newsletters to residents saying that a “Tory Extra Mayor” will cost £1 million.’

The reason there is so much push-back against the idea of a directly-elected mayor is that these councillors know that the mayoralty will break up the established political order, bringing in a whole host of new candidates. If voters want both a change and a choice, then they would be well-advised to vote for mayors.