There have been a few wild claims made recently, so we asked our mayoral responsibilities correspondent Angus Young to separate fact from fiction.
It’s fair to say that even as the dust settles after the first-ever Hull and East Yorkshire mayoral election, few of us actually know what the new mayor’s role entails. The same probably applies to the mayor himself. Ex-boxer Luke Campbell, who stood as the Reform UK candidate, admits he’s got absolutely no previous local government experience. So what can he do as leader of the region’s new combined authority?
Perhaps it’s best to start by listing some of the things he can’t do, despite comments to the contrary from some of his party colleagues over the last few days. For example, he can’t sack any diversity officers because there aren’t any employed at the combined authority. He also can’t demand that only a Union Jack be flown from the authority’s office because it doesn’t own the building it’s based in.
Forcing asylum seekers and migrants to live in tents isn’t an option either as it’s up to the Home Office to sort out their accommodation. Equally, he has no powers to change the way the two existing local councils deliver their day-to-day services. As such, he has no say over bin collections, adult social care, libraries or getting the fountains to work in Queen Victoria Square, even those they were used as a backdrop in one of his election campaign social media videos..
Instead, Mayor Campbell’s remit is to work alongside the region’s two council leaders with direct responsibility to lead on strategic issues such as housing development, planning, regeneration, transport and job creation. Even then, he can’t do it on his own.
Under the new authority’s governance arrangements, most of the key decisions will be made by an executive board which he will chair. The board will also include four councillors – two from each local council. They have already been confirmed as Hull’s Lib Dem leader Mike Ross and his deputy Jackie Dad and East Riding Conservative leader Anne Handley and her deputy David Tucker.
For any decision to be approved there has to be a simple majority voting in favour of it and the rules require the mayor to be part of that majority. Hypothetically, he could propose something and get outvoted. In that scenario, whatever his proposal was, it wouldn’t see the light of day.
How it all works out remains to be seen. Not only is it a brand new public body grappling with the complexities of working in tandem with national government policies and different pots of devolved funding, it’s also the first time a Reform UK politician has held a leadership role locally. Hopefully, the checks and balances which are incorporated into the authority’s decision-making architecture will prevail. The clue is in its name – it’s a combined authority and combined working between the different politicians on the board is a prerequisite.
If you want to see this new form of mayoral democracy in action, the first board meeting is being held at the Guildhall in Hull on May 28 starting at 10am and it’s open to the public. You can also watch webcasts of each board meeting via the authority’s website.