Directly elected mayors in England

In England, directly elected mayors are directly elected executive political leaders, usually referring to either local authority (councils) mayors, or the more powerful regional mayors (sometimes called metro mayors) who lead strategic authorities such as the Greater London Authority and combined authorities.

The first elected mayoral post was the Mayor of London, created as the executive of the Greater London Authority in 2000 as part of a reform of the local government of Greater London.

Since the Local Government Act 2000, all of the several hundred principal local councils in England and Wales have been required to review their executive arrangements. Examples of local authority (council) mayors include the Mayor of Middlesbrough and the Mayor of North Tyneside.

Combined authority or 'metro mayors', such the Mayor of Greater Manchester and the Mayor of the North East, where initially introduced in Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, similarly to the Mayor of London, these mayors oversee large areas covering multiple local authority areas. Combined Authority Mayors and the Mayor of London, have significantly greater devolved powers, remits and influence compared to local authority mayors. Combined authority mayors and the Mayor of London sit on the Mayoral Council for England, as well as the Council of the Nations and Regions alongside the UK Prime Minister and First Ministers of devolved governments.