Example British politics dissertation topic 3:

Elected mayors: a reinvigoration of local government? A comparative study of Hartlepool and Middlesbrough

Though the primary constitutional reforms of the Blair years are seen to centre upon the GLC and devolution, it was also a period in which elected mayors were introduced to a number of British cities. In the case of Hartlepool, H’Angus the Monkey (the mascot of the local football team) was not only elected but subsequently re-elected. Such an election confounded traditional party political expectations of elections at a local level and was repeated by the election of an independent mayor in Middlesbrough (a further traditional Labour heartland). This study uses primary and secondary data to assess the extent to which the election of these two mayors has reinvigorated democracy and local accountability in the traditional labour heartland and what lessons their elections may hold for further mayoral contests nationwide.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Copus, C. (2004) ‘Directly elected mayors: A tonic for local governance or old wine in new bottles?’ Local Government Studies, Vol. 30(4), pp. 576-588.
• Moss, R. (2012) ‘Directly elected mayors fall foul of councillor power’, BBC News, available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17197586 [accessed 26 May 2012].
• Orr, K. (2004) ‘If mayors are the answer then what was the question?’ Local Government Studies, Vol. 30(3), pp. 331-334.