Page 6 - link magazine

6 swindonlink.com • August 2008
An elected mayor for Swindon? Reclaim the right to be heard!

Why is The Link giving so much space to the idea of an elected mayor for the town?
Last month we highlighted a • Elected mayors do not have extra cillors now in the majority elect the political party - if they are a member
recent Institute of Public Policy powers and are subject to all local Leader of the Council from within of one - would in turn have to think
Research (IPPR)report on how government checks and inspec- their own. more carefully about how they
elected mayor’s have benefited tions. And their responsibilities; are The IPPR report found that the should widen their appeal.
other towns and cities over the different to the Mayor of London; introduction of elected mayors in Swindon citizens have already
last seven years. • This is not a matter of party 13 towns and cities has been largely shown that they back the idea. In
In 2001 The Link was the only local politics nor does it reflect any criti- successful. They are considered a November 2001, The Link reported
media to draw attention to the po- cism of the councillors presently in positive asset to decision making that 56 per cent of people in a coun-
tential benefits of Swindon having control of Swindon Council; which has led to a higher level of cil run survey were keen to see an
one, and how the idea was quietly The fundamental difference in public participation in local de- elected mayor.
killed off by those who controlled the way the council is managed at mocracy. It’s open to debate whether an
the town at the time. present is that every single citizen People feel an elected mayor elected mayor leading Swindon will
Let us make four things clear on the electoral role in Swindon connects them more directly with be as successful as Mayors in other
from the outset: would be able to vote for the person their council and the way their tax towns, but we were denied find-
• This is about every single voter to lead the council. money is being spent. To be elected, ing this out for ourselves because
deciding who will lead the council Currently the council is con- a mayor would have to appeal Swindon’s political elite quashed
on their behalf; trolled by the party with the most beyond their party and convince any further discussion in 2001.
• An elected mayor is different from seats. So, the 43 Conservative coun- the electorate that he or she is the On the right, Geoff Reid of www.
the present honorary mayor; best person to serve the town. Their talkswindon.org revisits how
Swindon Council buried the issue
and says its time to look at the idea
again. A petition of around 7,600
electors would be needed to makre
the council ask its citizens if they
want an elected mayor or not.

Mayor for Swindon:
let the people decide
says Tory leader
Even though David Cameron
wants to see a police commis-
sioner elected by the people in
every police authority, he isn’t
sure whether places the size of
Swindon should have an elected
mayor.

When asked, at a Cameron Di-
rect question and answer hour at
Greendown School on 11 July, if
he supported the idea of elected
mayors, following the success of
Boris Johnson’s election as May-
or of London, he said they were
good for big cities.
“Elected mayors have shown
that community involvement and
participation in local politics rises.
Look at Ray Mallon in Middlesbor-
ough who has done great things.
“But they might not be appro-
priate in towns like Swindon. The
point is that no one system should
be enforced upon an area.
“But in the end it’s up to the peo-
ple of a town to decide.”

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