The East Midlands will elect its first Mayor in May following the creation of the new East Midlands Combined Authority but only 33 per cent of public were aware of the date of the East Midlands mayoral elections and less than half (45 per cent) stated they will vote according to new public polling from Centre for Cities and Focaldata.
Awareness of the date of the mayoral election lags other areas of the country with mayoral elections in May, such as Tees Valley (45 per cent) and the West Midlands (38 per cent). On average across nine areas with mayoral election in May, 61 per cent of people said they expected to vote.
Higher figures in other places show there is potential to raise awareness. In areas with incumbent directly-elected mayors, 74 per cent of people were able to name their directly-elected mayor compared to 20 per cent who could identify their local authority leader and 43 per cent who could identify their MP.
Polling in East Midlands also found:
- When the electorate come to vote, the individual candidate matters more at mayoral elections than at a general election. At a mayoral election 46 per cent said they will cast their vote based on the individual candidate (and 54 per cent of people will vote for the party of their choice) but at a general election the figure for the individual candidate was 28 per cent (compared to 72 per cent voting for the party).
- People in mayoral areas are in favour of more devolution. Across a range of policy issues, there is an appetite to see decisions made at the local level, whether it is by metro mayors or the local authority. Most respondents believe that local leaders should have more responsibility over housing, transport, and homelessness in particular. Respondents in the East Midlands said they wanted local authorities to take on more power over housing (70 per cent) and transport (59 per cent).
Andrew Carter, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities, said: “The level of recognition for mayors in places that already have one shows they are fulfilling the purpose their role was created for – establishing a visible and accountable leader for their place.
“The fact that people are more likely to vote for the individual candidate rather than the political party they represent emphasises this. People want local leaders to put place before politics.
“But the findings also show that in the new combined authorities in the North East and the East Midlands in particular, there is work to be done to raise the awareness of why having a mayor will benefit the area and to draw attention to the upcoming mayoral elections.
“Local news sources, and trusted institutions and individuals have important roles in raising the prominence of mayoral elections and supporting discussions about what issues matter most locally. And in return, mayors must deliver on them.
“The fact that the public wants powers to be held at a local level is good news, and shows a strong appetite for devolution to move further and faster. Places are demanding more of a say over the decisions that make a difference to their lives – housing and transport in particular. Westminster and Whitehall need to respond.”
