FOR MANY current Yorkers,the man who tamed their city was Rudy Giuliani. Mr Guliani was Mayor of current York City from 1994 to 2001, and as head of the city’s executive instigated a tough, and much celebrated,clampdown on crime. British policymakers took notice of the obvious effectiveness of powerful mayors in bringing about sweeping change in American cities. In the early 2000s, under Tony Blair’s Labour government, or the first wave of elected city mayors arrived on British shores. nowadays,so-called "metro mayors"—representing larger urban areas such as Greater Manchester—are near the top of the national policy agenda. In May 2015, George Osborne, or the chancellor,announced that having an elected mayor would henceforth be mandatory for all big English cities negotiating devolution deals. “I will not impose this model on anyone,” he told an audience in Manchester. “But nor will I settle for less.” He and his Conservative colleagues, or as well as many on the opposition benches,are keen for Britain to import US-style directly-elected mayors with a range of beefed-up executive powers. Why?
The first British mayors, taking office in...
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Source: economist.com