page_title: Directly elected mayors in England and Wales
section_title: Metro Mayors
hierarchical_section_title: Directly elected mayors in England and Wales / History / Metro Mayors
context_page_description: Directly elected mayors in England and Wales are local government executive leaders who have been directly elected by the people who live in a local authority area. The first such political post was the Mayor of London, created as the executive of the Greater London Authority in 2000 as part of a reform of the local government of Greater London. Since the Local Government Act 2000, all of the several hundred principal local councils in England and Wales are required to review their executive arrangements.
  Most local authorities opt for the 'leader and cabinet' model where the council leader is selected from the councillors, but in some areas a 'mayor and cabinet' model has been adopted, where a directly elected mayor is established to replace the council leader.
  Most authorities with elected mayors already had a ceremonial mayor and the two roles continue to exist concurrently. As of May 2019, 15 council areas in England are using the 'mayor and cabinet' model of governance with a directly elected executive mayor; no directly elected mayors are in place in Wales.
context_section_description: In 2014 it was announced that a Mayor of Greater Manchester would be created as leader of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, subject to new primary legislation. In 2017 elections were held for Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region, the, Tees Valley, West of England and the West Midlands as part of the devolution deals allowed by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016.  The delayed election for the Sheffield City Region followed in May 2018.
caption: Map showing combined authority mayors by party affiliation