The prime minister can wax lyrical about this system all he likes, but devolution means he only oversees this area of policy in England.
And the Scottish government doesn’t want to shake up councils north of the border.
This week Burnham announced plans to give English mayors a share of income tax revenue for the first time.
Responding to this move, the SNP MSP David Linden told Scotland News that another level of elected politician in Scotland would not “be warmly received” by his constituents.
“We do believe in giving powers to local people, but I certainly remain to be convinced that giving someone a new chain of office and a new layer of elected politician is the way to do it,” he said.
Speaking to people in Glasgow, some echoed Linden’s views, insisting that more politicians were simply not the answer.
Others liked the idea of a more visible leader for the city who could be held to account for what went right or wrong.