Chain of command

THE FRIDAY THING: IT is a good few years since the campaign for an elected mayor in Oldham was confined to the dustbin. No recycling there, we thought, but were we wrong?

Now we ARE getting an elected mayor - but he or she will not be ours but the whole of Greater Manchester’s., and with the title goes a not-to-be-sneezed-at-grant of £1.2 billion.

The money is to be used to bring extra spending money to the districts of Greater Manchester (including us) but before anyone gets too euphoric, the grants to the districts will actually be considerably less than the budget cuts local councils have to make just to stay in business.

But the early Christmas present from Chancellor George Osborne is welcome, though we still have several imponderables to sift through to get at the details of where the extra money will be spent. One thing is certain; it won’t be coming back to the districts to reduce the burden of cuts.

And, of course, we are still to elect a new mayor for Greater Manchester - even though we can’t yet be sure this latest effort will fare any better than previous attempts on a smaller scale.

What qualities will the new mayor bring to the job? Will his or her role be all about processions, shaking hands and talking to folk or will he or she have a major say in how the money is spent?

What we do not want from an elected mayor is a distant, civil-service like bureaucrat, but someone who can lead a team, using the best brains from all the authorities across Greater Manchester and holding to account those who have responsibilities within the wider city region.

Oldham Council’s leader, Jim McMahon, puts the operation into its proper perspective when he says that the new developments will help to clear up a confusing and disjointed system. He’s right, for what we need are people to clean up the system and make sure our leaders are held to account.

Who, though, will be the city region’s first elected mayor?

Not me, you might be happy to learn.