Page 4 - link magazine

4 The Link Magazine • July 200 3
Are there 7,094 people willing to support the case
WORRIED
for a directly elected mayor?
ABOUT Just before the local elections in early May, Swindon Council quietly published a notice that 7,094 people
on the register of electors - 5 per cent of Swindon's electorate - is the number required on a petition to call
DEBT? a referendum on whether the council should be run by an executive, led by a directly elected mayor.
Fewer than 30 per cent of Swin- town choose the person who will school children.
MORTGAGES/ don's voters turned out at the elec- have responsibility for leading the Most mayors have had difficulty
REMORTGAGES, tions a couple of weeks later, leav- decision making. It would connect getting budgets passed, with
OVERBORROWED ing no party able to exert decisive voters with how the town is run backbench councillors retaining
CCJ'S, BANKRUPTCY. control over Swindon Council. and could lead to less partisan be- much control in finance decisions.
CREDIT CARDS Lack of clear leadership has been haviour by councillors." An Audit Commission report
identified as contributing to the Where towns have elected may- states North Tyneside is in'politi-
I COULD HELP poor performance record of the ors, they have attempted to get to cal deadlock.' And Hartlepool
council. Past editions of The Link grips with council expenditure, Council actually increased the
Stop seeing have suggested a politically strong such as restricting members' ex- budget proposed by the mayor.
Reliance on a single person is
Red. mayor might improve the run- penses and benefits and cutting also problematic. Morgan in North
ning of the council.
travel budgets.
Start seeing a future. Two years ago, the council car- Tyneside has resigned following
ried out a consultation exercise police investigations into matters
For a sympathetic ear asking for views on options pre- not related to the local authority.
scribed by central government for The government's enthusiasm
and a fully confidential chat,
administering council business, for elected mayors waxes and
call Swindon based
including the directly elected wanes. Where elections have
RON WEBB, mayor option. As we explained Would you vote for one of Swindon's party taken place, Labour has not been
Independent Financial Adviser at the time, the process was flawed leaders, Conservative Mike Bawden, La- very successful, outnumbered by
Office: 01635 43515. because of the way the govern- bour's Kevin Small or Lib DemMike Evemy. independent, 'fringe' and Con-
ment determined the choices and Or would it be somebody entirely different? servatives. And, of course, Lon-
Mobile: 07710 412849
the flacid attempt by Swindon to don's Ken Livingstone is a major
THE HOPWOOD ASH FINANCIAL
raise awareness of the issues. Mayor Chris Morgan in North irritant.
PLANNING CONSULTANCY
6 Oxford Road, Newbury, Berkshire At the time community activist Tyneside axed a major festival and Underperforming councils have
Martha Parry wrote in The Link,
Your home is at risk if you do not keep up cut the number of senior posts. been threatened with votes for an
repayments on a mortgage or other loans "the leader of the council is the In Middlesbrough, 'robocop' elected mayor, but this has not been
secured on it. Loans subject to lenders terms choice of a party political group. Ray Mallon undertook to reduce carried out. If there were serious
and conditions, written details on request
The benefit of directly electing a crime by 15 per cent in the first intent, it would be easy to have a
mayor is that all voters across the year, 10 per cent in the next, re- referendum combined with the
flecting his zero tolerance stance May local elec tions and legislation
when police chief in the area. He could be framed accordingly.
also swapped his chauffeur driven Swindon's political parties are
Jaguar for a self driven 600cc two entrenched into the present cabi-
CONSERVATORIES
seater. Local MP Ashuk Kumar net system, hoping that next year's
has grudgingly said of the inde- elections will free the log jam of a
WINDOWS & DOORS
pendent Mallon, "after 9 months hung council.
UPVC FASCIA & the mayor experiment has been a For ordinary people tired of the
success." political wrangling, the amount of
INSTALLATIONS GUTTERING However, it is not all good news. effort and organisation required
Of 12 elected mayors, some were to raise a petition of 7,094 names is
fringe candidates, such as Hartle- daunting and the benefits are not
pool United's 'H'Angus the Mon- guaranteed. Nevertheless, is there
L ^i RIB
key' promising free bananas for anybody out there up for it?
_._—
1' Ip MI
ca . uw Rii 6 t
The Link Magazine
Published by
Swindon Publications Ltd.
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Fax: (01793) 878189 "The Link was first published for the West
Make your dream a reality e: [email protected] Swindon community in December 1978.
It is completely independent of Link Centre
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and, in fact, won a competition to name the
FENSA • Free 3D dimension drawing Publisher/Editor: Roger Ogle leisure centre in 1984. Distribution in North
REGISTERED COMPANY • References available on request Editorial: Tel: (01793) 872282 Swindon commenced in January 1994."
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