
Leading Local Government
The Role of Directly Elected Mayors
Emerald Publishing Limited
Published on 6. July 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
160 pages
978-1-83909-653-2 (ISBN)
Description
Leading Local Government: The Role of Directly Elected Mayors is a timely and critical book that examines the erratic rise and uncertain future of the directly elected mayor in the context of English local governance.
Written principally for local government practitioners as well as for those with an academic interest in public leadership, the book asks whether elected mayors offer a new and reinvigorated form of local leadership, whether for individual towns and cities or for wider groups of combined authorities at the regional level. Built on original primary research conducted with mayors, elected representatives and a range of public sector managers, the book offers a fresh perspective that recognises mayoral achievements in some areas - including economic development - but finds that mayors do not enjoy widespread public endorsement and do not represent devolution of power in any meaningful sense. Above all, the book argues that elected mayors do not represent democratic renewal in a country which remains highly centralized. Using an historical account of early local government leaders together with international comparisons from the United States and Europe, the authors present the argument that, twenty years into the mayoral experiment, the mayoral initiative has so far failed to match the aspirations of central government for a new and effective form of local leadership.
Written principally for local government practitioners as well as for those with an academic interest in public leadership, the book asks whether elected mayors offer a new and reinvigorated form of local leadership, whether for individual towns and cities or for wider groups of combined authorities at the regional level. Built on original primary research conducted with mayors, elected representatives and a range of public sector managers, the book offers a fresh perspective that recognises mayoral achievements in some areas - including economic development - but finds that mayors do not enjoy widespread public endorsement and do not represent devolution of power in any meaningful sense. Above all, the book argues that elected mayors do not represent democratic renewal in a country which remains highly centralized. Using an historical account of early local government leaders together with international comparisons from the United States and Europe, the authors present the argument that, twenty years into the mayoral experiment, the mayoral initiative has so far failed to match the aspirations of central government for a new and effective form of local leadership.
Reviews / Votes
... a short, interesting, accessible and authoritative book on leadership in local government in England....a publication that sets the debate about leadership in both historical and international contexts. -- Comments from the review in 'Local Government Studies' by David Sweeting, University of Bristol
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Bingley
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 9 mm
Weight
178 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83909-653-2 (9781839096532)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
07/2020
Emerald Publishing Limited
€36.99
Available for download
Persons
John Fenwick is Emeritus Professor of Public Management and Leadership at Newcastle Business School, UK.
Lorraine Johnston is Associate Professor in Public Leadership at Newcastle Business School, UK, where she leads the Public Policy & Public Management (3PM) Research Interest Group.
Lorraine Johnston is Associate Professor in Public Leadership at Newcastle Business School, UK, where she leads the Public Policy & Public Management (3PM) Research Interest Group.
Content
Chapter 1. Introduction and Scope of the Book;Chapter 2. Local Administration or Local Leadership? A Brief History;
Chapter 3. Leaders Before their Time;
Chapter 4. Elected Mayors as Local Leaders?;
Chapter 5. Leading Economic Growth;
Chapter 6. Leaders, Regions and Places;
Chapter 7. The Role of Elected Mayors: Findings and Analysis;
Chapter 8. Conclusion
Chapter 3. Leaders Before their Time;
Chapter 4. Elected Mayors as Local Leaders?;
Chapter 5. Leading Economic Growth;
Chapter 6. Leaders, Regions and Places;
Chapter 7. The Role of Elected Mayors: Findings and Analysis;
Chapter 8. Conclusion