If mayors are the answer then what was the question?

This short article explores the introduction of directly elected mayors in England and identifies that the case for mayors, as made within New Labour's agenda of modernisation', has proceeded on the basis of inconsistent arguments. The article suggests the failure of the reforms either to deliver empowered 'big hitters' or to transform levels of interest in local electoral politics. It explores the diminishment of the public discourse of mayoralty, from one of high ambition and capacity to a more beleaguered discourse of enfeeblement and disenchantment. It argues that while it is easy to explain the project's lack of early impact as being the result of effective resistance by vested interests, critical attention must be paid to the problematic nature of the proposals themselves and that the experience of mayors is symptomatic of a broader incoherence within the 'modernisation' agenda.