Could city still get an elected mayor?
THE door to having a mayor for Greater Nottingham could well be opened – and you might not get the chance to have your say on it.
The city may have said "no" to an elected mayor last year but, under new plans, a mayor for the city, Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe could become reality.
Former MP Lord Michael Heseltine wrote a report in November about how to boost regional growth and this included plans for mayors in wider city conurbations.
Lord Heseltine recommended the Government hold an "urgent consultation" on the issue and said that where local support was "broad", the Government should act to make the idea a reality "without a referendum".
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But the deputy leader of Nottingham City Council, Councillor Graham Chapman, said: "We've been through this before and the people of Nottingham rejected the idea. It cost £2 million across the country and only Bristol went for it.
"We get on well with our neighbours – we might not have similar politics, but we co-operate on a number of projects, like broadband and the Boots site, already.
"The mayor stuff is a fad. If we had a mayor for the conurbation, it would mean six council leaders to fall out with potentially. There are bigger and more important things to be thinking about than mayors when it comes to growth."
The plan for conurbation mayors was one of 89 recommendations that Lord Heseltine made to help boost the regional economy.
Of these, 81 were taken up by the Government, including the award of £500,000 to Local Enterprise Partnerships for plans to create growth.
Speaking about the mayoral debate, Lord Heseltine said: "I was disappointed more cities did not choose to opt for a mayor. It confirmed my fear that relatively few would vote and that party loyalties would determine the outcomes. I believe this issue needs to be revisited to give our cities the influence and leadership commonly found in similar economies."
"We also need to strengthen the legislation that underpins combined and other authorities that want to collaborate to ensure local people can choose whether to elect a mayor. They should also be able to do so for wider city conurbations."
A joint report in response to the recommendations by the Treasury and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, said: "The Government will legislate as necessary to make this all possible, but does not intend to impose additional duties on local authorities."
5 Comments
by Neo_MadBadger
Wednesday, March 20 2013, 6:51AM
“Eggy, first of all, this story is about the possibility of another mayoral election, not the WPL. Secondly, there was no vote on the WPL, unlike the mayoral election, and a 'poll' has no where near the importance of an election.
What is funny though is that if this was Labour proposal the likes of Eggy would be bitterly complaining that it is an additional layer of beauracracy that will cost the taxpayer even more money (see complaints about PCC (but only Labour ones, of course), is being rigged by adding in voters from outside the city who may be more likely to vote for the proposal and thus tip the result the way the Tories want it when there has already been an election in which the idea was rejected. Looks like the Tories are so ardent for mayors that they are willing to gerrymander.”
by EggyEggCup
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 9:55PM
“Pot Kettle.
Its a bit rich Graham Chapman complaining about this. Didn't he and his cohorts at Nottingham City Council run a 'consultation' about the WPL. A consultation that the Transport Select Committee concluded was "deeply flawed". And didn't he then still go on to ignore the 83% majority that was against its introduction.”
by Fizissist
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 9:44AM
“Typical!!! The government doesn't like the result of a free vote so they tweak the question and ask it again until they get the answer they want.”
by Fizissist
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 9:41AM
“Typical!! The government doesn't like the result of a free vote, so they tweak the question and ask it again until they get the answer they want.”
by SteveBasford
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 8:26AM
“How nonsensical. I was up for the idea of a mayor, and voted so, the bulk of Nottingham just went for the "I dont give a dam" option and stayed indoors.
..but that's democracy, I accept that. Nothing riles me more than when a government puts something out to vote, doesn't like the results, and trounces all over it.
A certain european related treaty that the Irish and Czechs voted on (or not) spring to mind?”