Enthusiasm for an elected mayor for Bradford is rock bottom, says Lord Andrew Adonis.

But the ongoing debate is a chance to secure stronger strategic leadership for the district, he said.

The former Transport Secretary and Labour politician was in Bradford as part of a fact-finding tour of the 12 cities where there will be a referendum for elected mayors in May, 2012.

Speaking to the Telegraph & Argus, Lord Adonis said: “Bradford Council has been almost perpetually hung and the lack of clear leadership is a real problem in the city.

“While at this stage there is little support for an elected mayor there is concern, particularly within the business and university sector, of a lack of strength of leadership in the heart of the city centre.”

After a trip to Leeds, Lord Adonis caught the train to Bradford and spoke to Conservative group leader Anne Hawkesworth, the Council’s chief executive Tony Reeves, Bradford University’s vice-chancellor Professor Mark Cleary, the chief executive of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, Sandy Needham, and a representative of the voluntary sector.

He said: “Talking to local politicians, they seem to be against the idea, so was the chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce. At the moment I can’t see the making of a campaign in favour but it is early days.

“What’s been made very clear is that Bradford faces a challenging economic situation. It has a huge challenge to create jobs and attract business into the city.

“Therefore the initiative of providing strong leadership to sell Bradford internationally and nationally is an important one for the city to grasp in the debate of whether to have an elected mayor.”

Overall, he said, there was a strong sense of anxiety for the future and Bradford needed “much stronger strategic leadership if it is to attract businesses and create the jobs that it needs”.

He is preparing a report on the preparedness of cities to the idea of elected mayors as director of independent think tank, the Institute for Government.

  • Read the full story in Friday's T&A