Page 5 - link magazine

The Link Magazine • December 2001 5
Why Swindon needs a directly elected Mayor

Last month The Link pointed out that, whilst the control of tory leader and cabinet system.
Swindon Council was descending into chaos after the ruling Martha Parry argues that the issue of having a mayor elected
Labour group resigned following a vote of no confidence, at by all the people of the town has not been adequately ex-
the very same meeting the council cabinet voted to reject the plained or discussed and suggests the council take a radical
idea of a directly elected mayor and continue the unsatisfac- step to engage its citizens in the way Swindon is run.
The most common reason peo- government in these places IS more present themselves at next May's
ple give for not voting is that their responsive to local voters who are elections.
vote doesn't make any difference — more engaged in the management If you would like to see a di-
'the same people will get in, and of their town. In France the system rectly elected mayor in Swindon -
they will do what they want; so puts even more power in the hands even if you only agree that the
why bother going to the polls?' of the Mayor. voters should decide what they
These people are not lazy. They I originally thought of raising a want - I hope this article encour-
are making a point that the demo- petition which, if signed by 6,000 ages you to contact your local coun-
cratic system does not involve local electors could force a referen- cillors calling for a postal referen-
them. With the recent carry on in dum on whether voters wish to dum in January 2002.
the Swindon Council chamber and directly elect a Mayor. However, a
the inner circles of the cabinet, peo- Home Office civil servant has told
ple have every reason to be even me that a petition would not be
more confused and frustrated by able to trigger a referendum in time k4fl5e
the quality and unresponsiveness for the local elections next May. If s
of their local council. the petition was successful, it
At present elections take place would mean only a referendum in Specialists in PVCU,
in wards across the town for can- had? I am not being personal here, May, then possibly elections to windows, doors and
didates, usually linked with a po- but making a point of principle. choose a Mayor in October. This
litical party. The party with the The Local Government Act 2000 would cause unnecessary disrup-
most councillors gets to run the also required councils to consult tion, given that the council year
council - except in Swindon none their people about electing a Mayor starts in May.
of the three parties had an overall to lead the authority. But how But there is another way to
majority in May 2000, and even many people knew that this took achieve reform within a practical
now Labour refuses to work with place during the summer, let alone timeframe: the council itself could
the other parties, despite the were involved? Nine per cent of still decide to hold a referendum
widely expressed public view that people responded in a household by post in January.
all parties need to work together survey. If the outcome was for change,
for the good of the town. As reported in last month's Link then Mayoral candidates could Tel: 01793 848177 or 770596
Recent changes driven by the the consultation nationally was se- 22 Ravens Walk, Wootton Bassett,
Local Government Act 2000 have riously flawed because the votes
streamlined the old committee sys- in favour of an elected Mayor were
tem into a cabinet system, which split between two options. A 2 Z Home Improvements
makes the process of decision mak- The Swindon Citizen's Panel (a
ing even less open to the input of group of 2,640 voters more in the All your needs in one number
minority parties, let alone all vot- know) were asked to comment and
Kitchen/Bathroom fitting, Tiling, Plumbing, Electrics,
ers. 56% chose one of the two forms of Painting, Decorating, Carpentry and much more
So we had Sue Bates, who re- directly elected mayor on offer.
cently resigned as council leader, However the council decided to 111 Pinehurst Road Tel: (01793) 339671
voted in by 576 people (voter turn- stay with the present party/ Swindon Mobile: (07778) 207977
out 15%) in Gorse Hill Ward, cho- leader/cabinet system, chosen by
sen as Labour Group leader by an 44% of the panel. Clearly there is
unknown number of the 29 La- still an unanswered question as to
bour councillors. what Swindon people want.
New leader of the council is Mike Far from the berobed and
Bawden of the Conservative Party. chained ceremonial position at RALEIGH V
He was elected with 1,918 votes in present, candidates for the mod-
Lawn and Old Town Ward (voter ern mayor would stand for elec- GIANT
turnout 49%) and chosen leader of tion across the whole town and
his party group by an unknown campaign in all wards on a mani- SARACE
number of the 22 Conservative festo for the direction of the town. £15
councillors. They would be voted on by ALL With 230 bikes on show, deposit reserves
Holding the balance on the coun- the 120,000 registered voters,
cil are 8 Liberal Democrat council- across Swindon's 22 wards. The the choice is great Your hike
lors, three from one ward, Fresh- winner would then have a four - the price is right for Christina
brook and Grange Park. year term in which to execute their
I hold no personal party alle- manifesto and stand before the SWINDON CYCLES SUPERSTORE
giance, yet I wonder if Mike voters at the end of that period.
Bawden really has any clearer This is how it is done across f 60A Beechcroft Road off Stratton Cross Roads,
mandate to lead than Sue Bates Canada and the USA, and local 19 Swindon Tel: 700105 T qRE E5iE
^,^ PENHILL ^'^
Repairs and after sales service
MWNMI MS
BEEgM^C1NOFf `Z
Members of the West Swindon Workshop on the premises with trained staff
Lions Club will be collecting Spares & Accessories *
for local charites at the `cam Open: Mon to Sat 9am to 5.30pm WE
West Swindon Centre with Closed Sundays GO , HERE
E LL
their Father Christmas float on
Sundays 9th, 16th and 22nd
December.