What if mayors ruled the world?

Once, countries competed. Now, cities do. Take the above video of Stockholm, boasting about being the best place in the world to live and work. As the magician says, ‘it’s not a coincidence’ that the Swedish capital is doing well. It’s an example of all that can go right in a city, thanks to the power of elected mayors. Since 1920, Stockholm has had a variety of powerful leaders who have shaped the city with their own vision. As the magician explains, it’s a great place to live.

It’s not just Stockholm that has benefited from a good municipal leader. Plenty of other cities are thriving without help from their national governments. In this week’s Spectator magazine, I look at the rise of mayors around the world, including George Ferguson of Bristol and Boris Johnson of London, and how doling out more powers and accountability might be the solution to restoring trust in politics:

‘Londoners (there are more of them than Scots and Welsh put together) can argue that Boris has made more of an impact on their lives than David Cameron.