Elected Mayor Petition Options

[Richard Garvie]

I just wanted to ask if any of those who support the mayor system would like to help with a petition? This is not a party political petition, as far as I know two other political parties have requested information about forcing a referendum. Hundreds of people have already signed up, and the target date for submission is early February. I am personally planning to do Hungerford this Saturday with some colleagues, and Newbury on Friday and Saturday evening. There will be people in Newbury on Saturday daytime too.

The purpose of this petition is not because it's neccessarily my view or anyone in the Labour Party locally. We have decided to carry out this petition after the current administration refused to carry out a proper consultation on the leadership models available to the council. In correspondance with the leader of the council, I requested that the leadership decision be delayed so that a proper consultation could be carried out. I was told to "include it in my manifesto if it is something I care about". This shouldn't be about what I think, or what Graham Jones believes. There is a lot of support for the mayor option and it's only right that the general public should be allowed to have their views heard.

I would like to think all parties will be supportive of staging this referendum, especially the Lib Dems who are supposedly all for proportional representation. An elected mayor system would mean that the leader of the council would be elected by a large percentage of the district rather than 800 votes in one ward. The directly elected leader would also be accountable for when things go wrong, unlike at present when nobody seems to be accountable. Do you think Graham Jones would have closed the Ormonde Centre and Hillcroft House if he was accountable to the whole district? No, I don't think so either.

If you are available to assist with the petition, my mobile number is 07593 278690 or you can email richard.garvie@googlemail.com

[dannyboy]

who can then appoint whoever he or she likes in the cabinet

LOL, that is democracy is it? It is what we have now!

[Richard Garvie]

who can then appoint whoever he or she likes in the cabinet

LOL, that is democracy is it? It is what we have now!

No it isn't, and to claim otherwise is absurd. We don't pick the leader at the moment, and if we did Graham Jones would not have slashed public services so quickly. What we need is leadership that acts on the wishes of the electorate, and that is identifying waste and protecting key services.

[dannyboy]

No it isn't, and to claim otherwise is absurd. We don't pick the leader at the moment, and if we did Graham Jones would not have slashed public services so quickly. What we need is leadership that acts on the wishes of the electorate, and that is identifying waste and protecting key services.

So, a leader once in acts on the wishes of the electorate do they?

Utopia was nothing more than a book.

[TallDarkAndHands...]

Chance of a referendum on Europe / Human Rights Act / Death Penalty under a Labour Governmnent = Zero.

So why should we even consider a referendum on such a waste of time as a Newbury Mayor.
Quite unbelieveable this Mr Garvie...

[Richard Garvie]

Chance of a referendum on Europe / Human Rights Act / Death Penalty under a Labour Governmnent = Zero.

I don't have any control or say on those issues. I agree with you though, rather than side stepping important issues such as these and immigration, Gordon Brown bottled it and as a result lost the general election. I would never joined Labour under Brown, and I don't know why his government is even relvant now? It's like bringing up certain things than John Major did!!!

The referendum about an elected mayor who will lead West Berkshire will allow the public to decide on the leadership model. There is strong local support, yet the current conservative administration fixed the leadership model consultation preventing any honest debate. Hardly democratic, is it? An elected mayor for West Berkshire isn't a manifesto pledge or is it top priority for the party here in West Berkshire. But we believe there is significant local support for the option, and all of these people were unable to have their say in the consultation. I asked the leader of the council to delay the adoption of strong leader so that these people could have their say, but he refused. The consultation may have shown there was not enough support if it was done correctly, and we would not need to go down this route.

What is important is that the people get to have their say, in an open and transparent process. Under the cionservatives lately, it would appear that very little is transparent. Remember CCTV? Remember affordable housing commitments? Remember day care centre closures and wild cuts to the youth service provision? Unfortunately, none of those issues can be challenged, but the leadership model is one decision that can be challenged due to legislation, allowing the public to have their say. It's just a shame that the leader of the council ignored everyone who requested an open consultation on the matter, including the West Berks Strategic Partnership.

[dannyboy]

So the public have their say & we end up with a conservative mayor who then appoints his/her 'cabinet'.

As that won't change the status quo & infact would mean a stronger Conservative council, I think the council were right to have 'fixed' the lerdership model.