Len Tingle Editor, Politics Show, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

The Politics Show in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire compares the roles of the Mayors of Mansfield and Manhattan.

Ken Livingston exercises real power as the Mayor of London

Ken Livingston continues to make regular national headlines as the Mayor of London but what about the other directly elected mayors who have been in office for over a year in some other towns and cities around the country?

Few of them ever make it out of the inside pages of their local papers. Even then, they hardly make scintillating copy. In this region there are two of these pioneering town bosses.

The Mayor of Doncaster, who won on a New Labour ticket, caused a minor stir in the South Yorkshire press by announcing he wanted to upgrade the official limousine.

Just down the road in Mansfield there was a similar reaction when the Mayor of Mansfield, elected as an Independent, sacked his chauffeur and now drives himself around in his own second hand saloon.

But what have these elected mayors actually achieved?

The Mayor of Mansfield has organised concerts and graffiti hit squads

In Mansfield, Tony Egginton has organised brass band concerts in the town square and 'hit-squads to tackle fly tipping and graffiti.

But, surely, when the Government borrowed the idea of executive Mayors from the United States they had more fundamental ideas of how this would improve the daily lives of citizens?

Mansfield and Manhattan?

The Politics Show takes to the streets of Manhattan to see whether the Mayor of New York could offer a few pointers to his counterpart in Mansfield.

Manhattan Street cleaners directly controlled by the Mayor

Frankly, there is little comparison between the two offices. New York's Mayor seems to have personal control of virtually every aspect of life; police and fire fighters to sanitation services.

Our reporter Mark Denten turned up at a busy press conference where Mayor Bloomberg of New York announced that more closed circuit TV cameras were to be installed in a suburban shopping mall.

In Mansfield, at a similar event, the only press coverage was a photographer from the local free sheet!

Mayor seems to have personal control of virtually every aspect of life

In New York he had to push his way through a forest of TV cameras, microphones and satellite dishes. It all boils down to power. The New York Mayor has it and ours don't.

Back in Mansfield Tony Eggington says he could do a much better job if he had more clout. Without it his press conferences will continue to be rather lonely affairs.

Have your say

E-mail Cathy Killick with the form below ...

The Politics Show

Join presenter Cathy Killick for The Politics Show every Sunday at 12 noon on BBC One.

Disclaimer: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published.