What is the role of mayor for the West Midlands? Their powers and who they serve explained
The role of an elected or executive mayor for the West Midlands was created in 2017, as part of what the Government described as a 'devolution deal', which also created the West Midlands Combined Authority.
It was the first time there had been a regional government serving the West Midlands since the short-lived and controversial West Midlands County Council was abolished in 1986. However, the Government insisted that the new authority would be a very different animal, and instead of centralising the powers of local government, as the county council had done, it would be about devolving power from central government.