Mayor of the West of England
The Mayor of the West of England is the directly elected mayor who leads the West of England Combined Authority. The body, a combined authority, is responsible for the strategic administration of the West of England, including planning, transport and skills. For this purpose the West of England is defined as the local authority areas of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset. The creation of the role was agreed in 2016 as part of a devolution deal, by the then Chancellor George Osborne and the leaders of the three councils.
Mayor of the West of England
Image: Tim Bowles, 2017 04 03 (cropped)
Image: Dan Norris Mayor (cropped)
Directly elected mayors in England
Local authority areas in England typically have an executive leader and a cabinet selected from the local council, similar to how the national prime minister and cabinet are selected from Parliament. In contrast, residents of some areas, or groups of areas known as combined authorities or combined county authorities, directly elect the executive mayors of their local government.
Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson were directly elected mayors of London.
Image: Ken Livingstone World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2008 (cropped)