Sponsored by
Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield: Countdown is under way for mayoral vote
The countdown to the referendum on whether Leeds should have a directly elected mayor is under way and the council has published the question to be put to the voters.
Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield and are among ten major English cities to go to the polls on May 3 – the same day as the town hall elections – to decide if they want to change the way their councils are run by having a Boris Johnson-style mayor.
Liverpool has already plumped for an elected mayor and the contest will be held on May 3.
Click here to register and have your say on the stories and issues that matter to you
If Leeds – or any other city holding a referendum – decides it wants a mayoral system, the contest to choose a mayor will be held on November 15, the same day people vote for new police commissioners.
Coun Peter Box, Wakefield Council leader, has already indicated he would be willing to be a mayoral candidate – should the people of Wakefield decide they want an elected mayor.
The referendum question to Leeds people will read: “How would you like Leeds City Council to be run? By a leader who is an elected councillor chosen by a vote of the other elected councillors. This is how the council is run now. Or by a mayor who is elected by voters. This would be a change from how the council is run now.”
Since 2001, following legislation that ended the old committee system of local government, Leeds has had a leader-cabinet model of governance. The leader chairs the cabinet – in Leeds it called the executive board and has ten members – which takes major decisions, although the annual budget continues to be set by the full council. The leader is elected by the council.
A directly elected mayor would be chosen by the voters for a four-year term. He could have a small cabinet to advise him and would have the power to make key decisions. The council would continue to approve the budget.
Anyone aged over 21 living in the city could stand as a mayoral candidate.
So far only a dozen or so towns and cities have opted for an elected mayor. Liverpool will become the biggest city outside London to be run by a mayor.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 7 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
C3po
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 09:13 PMI can see all our councillors suddenly appearing out of the woodwork to be helpful as the latest gravy train appears on the horizon I hope enough people get all the facts and vote NO.
John44
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 06:33 PMGet a grip Leeds a bunch of councillors cannot run it properly so what kind of b#ll#cks would a Mayor make of it. One horse town with a Mayor and a Sherrif running it.
whirlygig
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 01:33 PMMore lazy reporting. The mayors would be nothing like Boris. He is Mayor of a major city region which emcompasses numerous local authorities and he makes major strategic decions which cut across bundaries i.e. Crossrail. If there is to be a Mayor there should be one for the whole of the north of England so similar strategic decisions can be made, but Tories are very much against regional government. Doncaster is hardly a shining example of what a mayor can achieve, the place is a disaster.
Nigel B
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 01:29 PMNot sure on this one, the principle is a good one, if the power systen with the Councillors and the Mayor are clear. Who will be in charge, the Mayor? Thats only good, the power in the hands of one person, if its the right person. What we have now is the leader changing everytime there is a swing to the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats. More stability with one person in charge for 5 years?
RD350LC
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 11:23 AMA ridiculously stupid idea imported from the wrong side of the Atlantic, nearly as bad as the elected police commissioners which will give us a police force being run by an individual with a political agenda
tildatwos
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 10:58 AMWhat a waste of money when we're all facing cuts to council services! Just more bureaucracy and costs.
octopusuk
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 10:51 AM"Boris Johnson-style mayor". shudder.
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.