THE leader of Bolton Council has ruled himself out of the race to become the first Greater Manchester Mayor.

Cllr Cliff Morris took his hat out of the ring as councillors debated the devolution agreement for the region, ahead of full council on Wednesday evening.

As part of the devolution package, agreed by the top brass of Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities and Chancellor George Osborne last month, people will have the chance to vote for a directly-elected Mayor in 2017, with powers over transport, housing, planning and policy.

Before then, an appointed member will join the 10 leaders on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to take up the Mayor post in the short term.

Following questions from UKIP Little Lever councillor Paul Richardson about where the 11th member will come from, Cllr Morris said: “We accept it is a very difficult situation at the moment.

“I only know who won’t be the 11th member, and that it won’t be me.

“If the 11th member does come from the existing 10 leaders, we don’t know whether he will step down from his current post – it is a big job. It is being discussed at the moment.”

Under the proposals, the 10 council leaders will form the Mayor’s cabinet, made up of the members of the GMCA.

The new Mayor will have to consult the GMCA on their strategies, and each of the council leaders will be able to vote to reject if there is a two-third majority. Each member will have one vote

The existing Police and Crime Commissioner post, held by Tony Lloyd, will also merge with the Mayor.

The Bolton Council cabinet also heard on Monday that following a scrutiny process, the authority will ask for assurances that the devolution deal cannot be changed unilaterally in the future, and that an elected Mayor could be removed from office in the event of serious misconduct.

GMCA is also asking that the vote be held on the same day as the local elections to increase voter turnout.

Cllr Morris stressed that the elected Mayor was a small part in a deal worth millions in investment to Bolton residents.

“This is about increasing growth and jobs for our people, and I don’t want the issue of a directly elected Mayor to get away from that”, he said.

“This is about devolution for the people of Bolton, not a new leader.

“This deal is about delivering on jobs, on skills – it is all the big agenda that we have been working for over the years.

“And the public will have a chance to have their say.”

The package will be discussed at full council on Wednesday, held at 7pm in Bolton Town Hall.