‘It's a proper job’: process, people and power in an English city

Abstract

Sir Peter Soulsby, a Member of Parliament, resigned from office to fight for what he called ‘a proper job’: the elected mayor of Leicester City. He was elected on 5 May 2011, but before that event a series of political interactions and actions had to be taken and shifting alliances had to be formed to generate a critical mass of support to change the governing arrangements of the city council to an elected mayor. This paper explores the way existing patterns of political behaviour and preferences were altered to lead to the introduction of the new office. The paper examines how, through a careful, if condensed, process of preference-shaping and the use of context, timing and authority-building, political leaders can construct a system of government that matches a personalized agenda for further political action.

Keywords:

• Elected mayors
• local government
• public policy