Elected Mayor Petition Options

[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.

[Richard Garvie]

Not at all, you are missing the fact that the leader would be accountable directly to the public. at present Graham Jones is elected by the people of Lambourn. Under the mayor system, he is elected by everyone. I guarentee that had he been directly accountable, he would of thought twice about axing vital frontline services. This whole CCTV debacle would not have got this far. Mainly because a directly elected mayor will be held to account.

The referendum will happen in August, and then it will be up to the people of West Berkshire to decide either way. I don't mind what party runs the council, providing they represent the views of the electorate and are accountable. At present, there is no accountability.

[dannyboy]

Not at all, you are missing the fact that the leader would be accountable directly to the public. at present Graham Jones is elected by the people of Lambourn. Under the mayor system, he is elected by everyone. I guarentee that had he been directly accountable, he would of thought twice about axing vital frontline services. This whole CCTV debacle would not have got this far. Mainly because a directly elected mayor will be held to account.

The referendum will happen in August, and then it will be up to the people of West Berkshire to decide either way. I don't mind what party runs the council, providing they represent the views of the electorate and are accountable. At present, there is no accountability.

I what way accountable?

And at what cost?

[Richard Garvie]

The cost of the mayor would be absorbed by additional expenses paid to the leader and the abolition of the Chairman of the council role and the tens of thousands of pounds that it costs us. We may even be slightly better off, it would depend on what the administration in charge after the referendum decided to award to the post in terms of salary. There is a cost for the referendum, and it could be around £25,000. That is regrettable, but had the consultation been conducted to include all option, there would have been no additional cost.

With regards to accountability, if the Mayor or Cabinet had misled the public or acted in what appears to be a dishonest way, would you vote to keep that mayor? As it is, Graham Jones is leader of the council and even if everyone in Newbury and Thatcham voted against the Conservatives, he could still be leader of the council. If it was the directly elected mayor model, those votes may be worth more than what he got elsewhere and we may get another person leading the council. It's a more proportional system than what we have now, Cameron and the Conservatives are rolling them out over the uk and O would have thought our local conservatives would be inline with their party nationally. I think the Lib Dems will support it too, given the fact that they claim to want a more proportional voting system.

[dannyboy]

So not really accountable then. Unless you are thinking of having Mayoral elections every time there is a **** up.

And you have the cost of a full Mayoral election too.

[blackdog]

So not really accountable then. Unless you are thinking of having Mayoral elections every time there is a **** up.

And you have the cost of a full Mayoral election too.

The accountability of all politicians is limited to the ballot box (or the courts in a few cases), it is not likely that a local mayor would be any different.

However, a mayor would be a bit more accountable than our current councillors - who are rarely elected as personalities, more as party representatives. There is no reason why a popular individual should not be elected mayor, regardless of party affiliation (or lack of it).

There would, of course, be a cost to the election, but not a huge one if it was done at the same time as the council elections.

[dannyboy]

The accountability of all politicians is limited to the ballot box (or the courts in a few cases), it is not likely that a local mayor would be any different.

However, a mayor would be a bit more accountable than our current councillors - who are rarely elected as personalities, more as party representatives. There is no reason why a popular individual should not be elected mayor, regardless of party affiliation (or lack of it).

There would, of course, be a cost to the election, but not a huge one if it was done at the same time as the council elections.

Exactly - a bit more accountable. Hardly worth the bother.

We might end up with a Boris Johnson.

[Squelchy]

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

Guess this would be a good time to point out that the ONLY time we've ever had a 'referendum on Europe' was back in 1975 under a............wait for it..............under a Labour Government. This was the first, and so far, only nationwide referendum to have been held in the United Kingdom. Funny the things people forget when it suits them.

I also suspect you are confusing our 'Human Rights Act 1998' with the 'European Convention on Human Rights' as drafted by Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe and ratified 1953, or was there something in the '98 Act that particularly upset you? (quick, google it)

[On the edge]

How did the saying go, was it '..and representing death in life Judge Sir David Maxwell-Fyffe' ?

[On the edge]

Exactly - a bit more accountable. Hardly worth the bother.

We might end up with a Boris Johnson.

How dreadful - things might start to happen!

[dannyboy]

How dreadful - things might start to happen!

I'm sure they would. But no way to stop them....

[dannyboy]

How dreadful - things might start to happen!

..

[Richard Garvie]

I'm sure they would. But no way to stop them....

That's where you are wrong. Full council will get to vote on all of the big decisions, including ratifying the budget. Mayors can also be recalled by the electorate, wheras there is no way for the public to recall the leader of the council using the strong leader system.

[dannyboy]

That's where you are wrong. Full council will get to vote on all of the big decisions, including ratifying the budget. Mayors can also be recalled by the electorate, wheras there is no way for the public to recall the leader of the council using the strong leader system.

Full council voting eh? With the mayor & his cabinet having a whacking great majority....

Recalling Mayors? A little bit US-centric isn't it?

[Iommi]

Recalling Mayors? A little bit US-centric isn't it?

Is that an argument for not having it?

[dannyboy]

Is that an argument for not having it?

Not at all.

We can elect our Police Chiefs as well.

[Iommi]

Like you though, I don't necessarily trust the electorate to make 'the right' decisions.

[Richard Garvie]

Full council voting eh? With the mayor & his cabinet having a whacking great majority....

Recalling Mayors? A little bit US-centric isn't it?

How can you campaign against an elected mayor if you don't even know the facts? I would much rather call the model "directly elected leader", because that is what it is. What's wrong with recalling elected representatives who are not performing? I remember that the Lib Dems and the Coalition Government were all for this before the tuition fee debacle, not sure what the position on it is now. The more I think about it, this should be right up the Lib Dem street, in addition to Cameron's. The Lib Dems want a more proportional electoral system, and also want to be able to recall elected representatives who don't perform. The mayor system is both of those. We already know Cameron and the Conservative Party want to roll mayors out to all large towns / cities and unitaries. So why not here?

[dannyboy]

Like you though, I don't necessarily trust the electorate to make 'the right' decisions.

The problem is as Acton said, power corrupts & absoulte power corrupts absolutely. The electorate have no real say at all.

Once in, those in charge tend to act like Roy Jenkins.

[Richard Garvie]

I am somewhat curious about User23 and Dannyboy as both seem to post and agree with each other in very short time frames (look back at the previous posts here) and amazingly both last amended their profiles within 5 minutes of each other on the same day (14th May 2009 at 7:17 and 7:12 pm). I think that there is a very strong possibility that they are the same person. If so, it leaves the credibility of both of them open to question.

Full council voting eh? With the mayor & his cabinet having a whacking great majority....

Recalling Mayors? A little bit US-centric isn't it?

We don't pick the leader of the country either.

Do you think we should have an elected president? It all sounds a bit American to me.

Are you sure you are not the same person???