Election date set for mayoral elections

Cities minister Greg Clark has announced the date for mayoral elections.

Ballot boxes in the cities that say 'yes' to mayors will open on 15 November 2012, giving local people the power to decide who their first mayor should be.

In May 2010, the Coalition set out its commitment to creating directly elected mayors in the 12 largest English cities outside London, subject to confirmatory referendums and full scrutiny by elected councillors.

Referendums will take place on 3 May 2012 in 11 cities - Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Coventry, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham, Sheffield and Wakefield. Leicester already has an elected Mayor.

Greg Clark said: "Elected mayors provide cities with the strong, visible leadership that can help them prosper nationally and internationally. This is an opportunity for each city to transform itself for the better.

"The world's great cities have mayors who lead for their city on the national and international stage, attracting investment and jobs. We believe that mayors can help English cities achieve their full potential too.”

The legal foundation for the role of directly elected mayors is the Government's Localism Act, which contains a wide range of decentralising measures. Mayors will have a crucial role to play in shaping the ongoing process of reform - negotiating with ministers to specify and secure the specific powers that each community needs to prosper.