Leadership

He also confirmed that the tram project has failed to be delivered due to poor local leadership; and he visited the Pall Mall site that we believe would be an ideal location for any civil service jobs that the Government plans to transfer from Whitehall to the North.
Talking of leadership, and as Downtown plans to take the brand down the M62 next year, I have been spending a fair bit of time in Manchester recently.
I have written before about the co-ordination, cohesion and the 'can do' attitude of Manchester's political establishment, and the more I see of the place, the more impressed I am.
The local Government city region structure is organised through an organisation called AGMA (Association of Greater Manchester Authorities) which has private sector representation and is attended by all the leaders of the Manchester councils.
Its economic development policies and strategic planning, not to mention AGMA's lobbying power at a national level, is both impressive and consistent and is in marked contrast to what appears to be a rather shambolic Merseyside group, which is, I am informed, hardly ever graced by the presence of the Leader of Liverpool City Council, Warren Bradley.
On my regular City Talk slot this morning, Warren called in to object to remarks I made about the elected mayor debate In Liverpool. In a rather heated exchange, he contended that the council's consultation on the issue has been extensive and there is no appetite among the city's electorate for an elected mayor. I would simply argue that a referendum should take place on the issue - and that will happen if a Conservative Government is elected in 2010.