People do not think mayors lead to better outcomes for their community, polling by a coalition of community groups has found.

A survey released today by the campaign group We’re Right Here found 17% thought more power for metro and county mayors would lead to better outcomes compared to 46% for community groups.

The Opinium poll of more than 2,000 people also found 14% of respondents believed having a mayor would give them a greater sense of personal control, compared to 35% saying local community organisations and groups with more power would give them a sense of control.

By a margin of five to one, people preferred that the Government prioritise empowering community organisations and groups (50%) over creating new mayors (10%).

The Opinium poll of more than 2,000 people also found 14% of respondents believed having a mayor would give them a greater sense of personal control compared to 35% who said local community organisations and groups with more power would give them a greater sense of control.

By a margin of five to one, people preferred the Government to prioritise empowering community organisations and groups (50%) over creating new mayors (10%).

Andy Jackson, a We’re Right Here campaign leader who runs a development trust near Sheffield, said: ‘Of course we should have good leaders at the city or county level, running the things that need to be run at that scale, but don’t for a minute believe new mayors are going to meet people’s deep desire for more control over the things that matter to them.’

This article was originally published by The MJ (£).