In May, when the mayors of the two new combined authorities in North Yorkshire and the East Midlands as well the extended North East of England are elected, this will take the proportion of England's population with directly-elected mayors up to 50%. A significant milestone in the devolution agenda.

May's mayoral and local elections will give millions of people across the country the opportunity to have their say in how their places are run. Crucially, the metro mayor elections cover many of the big cities outside of London. They all face a similar economic problem – they underperform. On wages, jobs, innovation and productivity, they do less well than they should.