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Greater Manchester is to have a Gtr Manchester mayor from May 2017. We have an interim in place (Labour's Tony Lloyd - never elected to the post) until the election next year.

This announcement is just part of that process.

It sounds great on paper until you look at what Osborne has done. He has cooked it up, by-passed Parliament and to get it agreed locally said that the Mayor has no power to appoint a cabinet, his cabinet will be made up of the local council leaders - who are predominantly Labour . So, these new powers for the Mayor will be worthless, as if the Mayor is not a Labour Party appointee - as has happened in London - there can be no consensus on most things with his Cabinet. But Osborne really wanted it to make his Northern Powerhouse work. The Mayor also takes the budget for the hopelessly bankrupt Greater Manchester NHS. That bankrupt budget will mean that all cash will be sucked out of the Mayor's budget as s/he fights to keep the hospitals and mental health facilities open. And you know what Labour leaders are like - the budget will be massively abused with expense claims for Senior Executive PAs to the post-room etc etc.

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