Mayoral Elections

– Discuss how far have mayoral elections in London increased engagement with local politics in comparison to that of other cities with a mayor in the UK especially in salford who had their first mayoral election this pass year. €“ Use analysis on public perceptions via referenda and electoral results

– talk about the fact that London is big City with more issues therefore how fair is it to compare other parts of the UK with it.

– Some points to bare in mind also: It is fair to point out that due to the fact that this is Salfords first mayoral election there may not be enough interest within the local community therefore turnout could potentially be low in comparison to that of London’s mayoral election as this will be their fourth election to date. Also by taking the latter into consideration, London will have more experience running a mayoral election than Salford, which can prove to be an advantage in how they run their campaign. Another factor which can been regarded is the size of both Salford and London thus making turnout disproportional to compare, unless a percentage is taken which will give a more reliable and accurate answer. Money is also a contributing factor as London will have a bigger budget to elect a mayor.

– The idea that ?�if people do not vote in general elections why would they for a mayoral election’ also comes to surface, for if there is already voter apathy no distinctions will be able to be made from both general and mayoral elections.Another problem which may arise is the idea that the electorates preferences may change. So when looking at past general elections, some years may not be as popular as previous years so participation rates may vary. This might in turn play a role in the participation rates within mayoral elections for if people feel disengaged they are less likely to want to participate in either thus equalling to a low turn out for both elections.