Deinstitutionalisation in local government: the abolition of mayoral governance in Bristol, England

This paper seeks to provide an empirically grounded and theoretically informed account of the creation, operation, and abolition of mayoral governance in Bristol, England. In 2012, the citizens of Bristol voted in a referendum to introduce a directly elected mayor to the city council. Following three mayoral elections, resulting in the election of two mayors, councillors passed a resolution to hold a referendum to abolish the mayoral system and replace it with a committee system. The subsequent referendum, held in 2022, endorsed the resolution and in 2024 the mayoral system in Bristol will be no more. After charting the city’s adoption of the mayoral model, this paper examines the performance of mayoral governance with reference to empirical data gathered in the city before and during the twelve years of its existence. Using an institutional perspective, the paper then explores the reasons why the mayoral model was abolished; the argument developed is that opponents of the mayoral model engaged in ‘institutional work’ to disrupt the institutions of mayoral governance, resulting ultimately in its deinstitutionalisation. Conclusions are drawn to inform debates around the introduction of directly elected mayors in local governance.