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I'm not sure how many of you are Coronation Street fans but, after 50 years at the Granada Studios in Manchester, production is now moving to a new studio. Paul Wheeler is director of the Political Skills Forum Although located next to Media City – the impressive new home for the BBC – in Salford, Coronation Street will be actually now be made in the borough of Trafford. All of these venues are within a mile of each other, but this emerging major media centre is now split across three different local authorities. So, what does any of that mean for the future of elected mayors and the Government's localism agenda? Well, quite a lot, if you listen to Lord Adonis. Andrew Adonis was one of the more thoughtful ministers of the last Labour Government – and is now chief executive at the Institute for Government. In a recent speech to the Centre for Public Scrutiny, he presented some bleak statistics. Of the 12 major conurbations in England, only one (Bristol) has a GDP above the European cities' average, compared with eight in Germany. In his view, our regional conurbations will only prosper if we address political governance. The problem is that the proposed referendums are likely to ask the wrong question to the wrong audience. By restricting the option of a directly-elected mayor to the regional capital – Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, etc – rather than the whole conurbation, it is making a false comparison with the situation in London. The mayor in London works precisely because he or she is a mayor for the whole sub-region, and is able to take on the political leadership for transport, policing, economic regeneration and – soon – housing policies. For our regional capitals the critical question they have to address over the next 10 years is about economic regeneration and job creation. The modern world has a greater degree of movement and travel across borough boundaries for both people and organisations – as evidenced by Coronation Street and Media City. We need political leaders who can negotiate on an equal footing with national government and businesses. Time is short, but a well-placed amendment to the Localism Bill may well open up the debate to consider all options.

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WHITEHALL

Soap Box

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