BRIEFING PAPER Number CBP9237, 25 May 2021 Combined authority By Elise Uberoi mayoral elections in May 2021 Contents: Summary 1. Combined authority mayors (metro-mayors) 2. Parties 3. Candidates 4. Results 5. Turnout 6. Appendix www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary 2 Combined authority mayoral elections in May 2021 Contents Summary 3 1. Combined authority mayors (metro-mayors) 4 1.1 What are metro-mayors and what do they do? 4 1.2 Electoral process and timing 5 2. Parties 6 3. Candidates 11 3.1 Candidates by party and gender 11 4. Results 13 5. Turnout 15 6. Appendix 17 6.1 Key for turnout and local authority vote share maps 17 6.2 Detailed vote share maps 18 Contributing authors Carl Baker, maps Cover page image copyright: Polling Station attributed to secretlondon123 licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) 3 Commons Library Briefing, 25 May 2021 Summary Labour candidates won five out of the seven combined authority (metro-)mayor elections in May 2021, with the Conservative candidates winning the remaining two. Labour mayors now govern combined authorities covering more than 8.5 million people and Conservative mayors govern areas covering more than 3.6 million people. The Green Party came third in all five elections they contested, ahead of the Liberal Democrats. In three elections, the winning candidate won more than 50% of the first preference votes. The other elections went to the second preference votes round. Tracy Brabin was elected mayor of West Yorkshire, the first woman to hold a metro-mayor position. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Greater Manchester Liverpool City Region 80% Mayor: Nik Johnson 80% Mayor: Andy Burnham 80% Mayor: Steve Rotheram Turnout: 36.4% Turnout: 34.2% Turnout: 29.5% 60% 60% 60% 40% 40% 40% 20% 20% 20% 0% 0% 0% LAB CON GRN LD Oth LAB CON GRN LD Oth LAB CON GRN LD Oth Tees Valley West of England West Midlands 80% 80% 80% Mayor: Ben Houchen Mayor: Dan Norris Mayor: Andy Street 60% Turnout: 33.7% 60% Turnout: 36.1% 60% Turnout: 30.6% 40% 40% 40% 20% 20% 20% 0% 0% 0% LAB CON GRN LD Oth LAB CON GRN LD Oth LAB CON GRN LD Oth West Yorkshire 80% Mayor: Tracy Brabin 60% Turnout: 35.8% 40% 20% 0% LAB CON GRN LD Oth 4 Combined authority mayoral elections in May 2021 1. Combined authority mayors (metro-mayors) 1.1 What are metro-mayors and what do they do? Metro-mayors have been established in nine areas via regulations made under the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016. They originate from the ‘Greater Manchester Agreement’, published in 2014 and negotiated between local leaders in Greater Manchester and the then Chancellor, George Osborne. The Mayor of London is not a metro- mayor. Regulations have made various legal powers available to metro-mayors, and to combined authorities, in accordance with a series of ‘devolution deals’ agreed between the Government and local areas. (Some elements of the devolution deals do not concern statutory functions, and therefore are not covered in regulations.) Metro-mayors are elected leaders and chairs of combined authorities. A combined authority is a separate legal entity covering two or more local authority areas. It has a membership structure, with each member local authority being entitled to one representative on the board. That person may or may not be the leader of the local authority. A combined authority is not required to have an elected mayor. Legislation permits metro-mayors to absorb the role of Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). Metro-mayors who are PCCs may appoint a statutory deputy mayor for policing and crime. The mayor of Greater Manchester is also the PCC for Greater Manchester. The mayor of West Yorkshire, to be elected for the first time in May 2021, will absorb the role of PCC for West Yorkshire. Six combined authorities held mayoral elections in May 2017, one in 2018 and one in 2019. Detailed results can be found in the Library briefing paper Local election results 2017, Local election results 2018 and Local election results 2019. After the postponement of the 2020 local elections due to coronavirus, there were elections for seven ‘metro-mayors’ in May 2021. There were no elections in North of Tyne and Sheffield City Region. The table below gives an overview of the budgets and powers of different city regions and their mayors. 5 Commons Library Briefing, 25 May 2021 Combined authority areas electing metro-mayors 30-year- Local Health investment industrial Education Housing & & social First fund strategy & skills planning Transport care Population elected Cambridgeshire and Peterborough £600m x x x x x 855,796 2017 Greater Manchester £900m x x x x x 2,835,686 2017 North of Tyne £600m x x x x 833,167 2019 Liverpool City Region £900m x x x x x 1,559,320 2017 Tees Valley £450m x x x x 675,944 2017 Sheffield City Region £900m x x x x 1,409,020 2018 West Midlands £1.1bn x x x x 2,928,592 2017 West of England £900m x x x x 941,752 2017 West Yorkshire £1.1bn x x x 2,332,469 2021 Source: House of Commons Library, Devolution to local government in England, Appendix A, Centre for Cities, Everything you need to know about metro mayors, 30 March 2021; NOMIS ONS population estimates, mid-2019 These powers are exercised in different ways and some regions are more extensively involved in some areas than others. More detail on these differences is available from Library Briefing Paper Devolution to local government in England and analysis by the Institute for Government. 1.2 Electoral process and timing Metro mayor elections are elected for three or four years. People who are registered to vote at local government elections are entitled to vote for the metro mayor that area. The Supplementary Vote system is used; the same system is used for the Mayor of London and Police and Crime Commissioners. There are two columns on a ballot paper. Voters can mark an X in the first column for their first-choice candidate and another X in the second column for their second choice. A candidate who receives more than 50% of the first preference votes on the first count is elected. If no candidate reaches 50% in the first round, the two candidates with the highest number of votes are retained. The ballot papers showing a first preference for eliminated candidates are checked for their second preference. Any second preference votes for the two remaining candidates are then added to the candidates' first preference votes. The candidate with the most votes then wins. Conservative • The Conservatives won two Summary: 2021 and changes 2017-2021 metro-mayoral positions out of First preference votes the seven they contested. Elections Population in % pts • The Conservatives won 33.2% won areas won Number % change of the first preference vote All areas 2 3,604,536 968,261 33.2% +2.5% across all voting areas, an increase of 2.5 percentage Vote shares and changes 2017-2021 points. % pts • The Conservatives performed Highest/lowest share of first preference votes change best in Tees Valley (72.8%), 1 Tees Valley 72.8% +33.3% where they increased their vote Highest 2 West Midlands 48.7% +6.8% share by 33 percentage points, 3 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 38.0% 0.0% and worst in Greater Manchester and Liverpool City 1 West of England 28.6% +1.3% Region (19.6% each). Lowest 2 Greater Manchester 19.6% -3.1% 3 Liverpool City Region 19.6% -0.8% Labour • Labour won five out of the Summary: 2021 and changes 2017-2021 seven metro-mayoral positions First preference votes they contested. Elections Population in % pts • Labour won the greatest won areas won Number % change share of first preference votes, All areas 5 8,525,023 1,383,120 47.4% +1.4% 47.4%, an increase of 1.4 percentage points. Vote shares and changes • Labour performed best in % pts Greater Manchester (67.3%) Highest/lowest share of first preference votes change and worst in Tees Valley (27.2%). Although Labour 1 Greater Manchester 67.3% +3.9% Highest recorded its second worst score 2 Liverpool City Region 58.3% -1.0% in Cambridgeshire and 3 West Yorkshire 43.1% NA Peterborough, the party increased its share of the vote 1 West of England 33.4% +11.2% here by 14 percentage points. Lowest 2 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 32.8% +14.2% 3 Tees Valley 27.2% -11.7% 7 Commons Library Briefing, 25 May 2021 Liberal Democrats • The Liberal Democrats did Summary: 2021 and changes 2017-2021 not win any of the six metro- First preference votes mayoral positions they Elections Population in % pts contested. won areas won Number % change • The Liberal Democrats won All areas 0 0 212,498 7.3% -2.5% 7.3% of the first preference vote across all voting areas, a Vote shares and changes 2017-2021 decrease of 2.5 percentage % pts points. Highest/lowest share of first preference votes change • The Liberal Democrats 1 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 26.7% +3.2% performed best in Highest 2 West of England 16.3% -3.9% Cambridgeshire and 3 Liverpool City Region 10.3% +3.5% Peterborough (26.7%) and worst in Greater Manchester 1 West Yorkshire 5.0% NA (3.2%). Lowest 2 West Midlands 3.6% -2.3% 3 Greater Manchester 3.2% -2.9% Green • The Greens did not win any of Summary: 2021 and changes 2017-2021 the five metro-mayoral First preference votes positions they contested.