IFB 2016: Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council, has said he has no plans to step down after the first mayor of Greater Manchester is elected next year.
Bernstein has been chief executive of the city council since 1998 and is widely seen to have been instrumental in driving forward regeneration and attracting inward investment to the region.
Speaking to Estates Gazette, he said the role of the new mayor in terms of regeneration would be to support the execution of Greater Manchester’s devolution functions and provide “perhaps a clearer focus” for what the region has to offer to international investors.
Asked if he had any plans to step down, he said: “I’m not thinking about it at the moment.”
There has been speculation in the city and its property market as to how Bernstein’s role could change after the new mayor is elected.
Bernstein said: “It’s not how I’m going to work with the mayor, it’s how the new mayor is going to work with 10 local authorities. This is not a one-man show, it never has been. It’s collective.
“Greater Manchester at its heart has moved forward significantly over the last decade, and that has been a team effort involving leaders across parties.
“It has involved chief executives, it has involved communities and it has involved all of those agencies and stakeholders working with successive governments.”
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