Elected Mayor will make a positive contribution

Voters in the West Midlands are more likely to say that elected mayors will make a positive impact on their area than people elsewhere in the country, a new poll has concluded.

The poll, commissioned by PwC, was conducted among 2,000 members of the public across England.

It reveals that despite the mayoral campaigns heating up, many people are still in the dark about the May 4 elections.

With just six weeks to go until the elections, awareness of them is highest in the West Midlands and North West (80%). Awareness in London is running at similar levels (80%), closely followed by the South West (79%).

However, despite this awareness, only 4% of people in the West Midlands say they know a great deal about the elections, with 10% saying they know a fair amount. Worryingly, 12% say they had never heard of them.

Voters in the West Midlands remain positive about the success of devolution, with polling revealing that 27% of people across the region believe elected mayors will make a positive impact – higher than the national average of compared to 23%.

However, 17% of adults in the West Midlands say they have never heard about proposals to devolve more powers to councils or groups of councils.

Throughout England, the study concludes younger age groups are more likely to know a fair amount or a great deal about devolution and mayors; this group also says that an elected mayor will have a positive impact, with a third (33%) of those aged 18-34 thinking there would be a positive impact, compared to 17% of those aged 55-plus.

Alison Breadon, government and public sector leader for PwC in the Midlands, said: “With much work being done by the mayoral candidates ahead of the elections it is not surprising that awareness of the elections in the West Midlands is amongst the highest in England.

“Devolution of power to the English regions is still a new concept for many people but it is clear that people remain open and positive to this in practice.

“The success of devolution depends on how far it connects with the public, simply because it will impact their day to day experiences, opportunities and aspirations, so it is important that people engage with the election process and continue to take pride in what devolution means for their community.”

The candidates in the West Midlands Mayoral election are:

James Burn – Green Party
Pete Durnell – UKIP
Beverley Nielsen – Liberal Demorcats
Siôn Simon – Labour
Graham Stevenson – Communist
Andy Street – Conservative