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An elected mayor can change things for the better, Cities Minister tells Sheffield voters
THE ceremonial role of Sheffield’s Lord Mayor costs the taxpayer an average of £558 a day. In May, Sheffielders go to the polls to decide whether an elected mayor should be introduced as well to lead the council.
In an exclusive letter, Cities Minister Greg Clark puts the case for elected mayors and we go onto the streets to ask what you think.
“I WAS delighted to sign an order which will give residents here in Sheffield the chance to put a directly-elected mayor at the helm.
“People putting pen to ballot paper voters here, and those in the nine other cities, hold the power to bring in a new politics on Thursday, May 3.
“Why is this such a great opportunity?
“Firstly, these mayors will be able to change things for the better.
“They are not ceremonial appointments. They are proactive, democratic figures, with a clear mandate from the electorate: to lead the council, attract investment, represent the city and fight for the interesets of the city of Sheffield.
“Just look at London: the capital has transformed since it has elected its own mayor.
“And that’s the sort of leadership you could have right here.
“Secondly, a directly-elected mayor will make politics answer to you, not the other way around.
“Too often, people feel their communities are controlled by people a long way from them.
“But internationally, in the great cities which are led by directly-elected mayors, things are different.
“If people want something to happen they know who to go to. If something goes wrong they know who is accountable for that.
“If someone needs to speak up for the city, they can rely on the mayor they have elected.
“The buck stops with the mayor – plus, if you don’t like them, you can vote them out.
“It’s all part of this Government’s belief that the right decisions are more likely to be made in the Town Hall rather than Whitehall.
“Thirdly, a directly-elected mayor will energise politics in the city.
“The cities with mayors have real debates about their future, they have high profile campaigns, all with the aim of achieving better services, a better environment and a stronger economy.
“After all, everyone who lives here knows Sheffield’s needs and aspirations are different to those of other cities.
“That is why this role attracts someone who knows their patch, who fights their corner, batting for Sheffield on a national and international level.
“I believe the benefits of this system are clear.
“But the choice is now yours. You will have the opportunity on May 3 to vote on how your city is governed.
“Whatever you decide, please use that vote and have your say.”
HERE’S WHAT SOME OF OUR READERS SAID:
* Di Knowles, 61, Crookes, said:
“I’m concerned that people will just vote for a personality rather than the person who may really be the best for the job.”
“Councillors who currently appoint the mayor at least know the strengths or weaknesses of the person who’s given the job.
“But I will be keen to hear the arguments on both sides before I make my decision in May.”
* Carol Brown, 68, Hackenthorpe, said:
“I think it is a good idea, it will be something different for the city and will shake things up.”
Chris Tate, 53, Darnall, said:
“Personality could be a decider in an election – and we certainly don’t want another Boris Johnson-type in charge of Sheffield.”
* Helen Christie-Gibbens, 43, of Hillsborough, said:
“I will need to get myself better informed so I can really make up my mind.”
Now have your say - leave a comment below or email us at thestar.co.uk
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Comments
There are 11 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
sheffmike
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 03:40 PMi am in much agreement with most of the points in previous posts but would reiterate post 9's concern that people should not confuse an Elected Mayor who incidentailly cannot be voted out during the time hershe is in power (4 years) and the current Lord Mayor position. This will still remain ie you will have an Elected Mayor and a ceremonal Lord Mayor (as Doncaster has its elected mayor and civic mayor) I very much hope that the citizens of Sheffield will, as they have done so before, vote against the idea of an Elected Mayor
Sheffieldman
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 09:25 AMNo to Elected Mayors - look at Doncaster - a shambles. We also need to address the issue of CouncillorsCabinet and the Leader''s roles. Why do we need 3 councillors per ward when decisions are made by only 8 cabinet members and even then can be over-ruled by the Leader of the council? Julie Dore the current incumbent may be doing her best but that's no reason to put up with this near-dictatorship. Unless Council reform means a return to representative democracy the whole thing is a sham.
jgh
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 02:20 AMMost of the people commenting here are confusing the CEREMONIAL mayor that we currently have with an EXECUTIVE mayor, a directly elected POLITICAL COUNCIL LEADER. We already have a leader of the council, Julie Dore, who is an executive mayor in all but name. The only difference between the current arrangement and a directly elected council leader is that currently the leader is chosen by the largest party in power, the option is to change that to somebody chosen drectly by the voters in an enelction once every four years. But, PLEASE stop confusing the Lord Mayor (ceremonial) with a putative elected mayor (executive).
jayengee35
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 04:39 PMIf an elected mayor can actually implement what the people of Sheffield actually want such as properly maintained roads and regular weekly collections of waste and regular collections of all recyclable material and end to Labour's favoured areas then I'm all in favour. The council should represent the best interests of all its residents, but I'm not at all sure that this is the case now or in the past. Surely if we are paying an elected Mayor then you will not be paying for an elected councillor from whatever party to also do the job. An independent mayor should be a good thing for Sheffield.
dromedary
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 12:48 PMIf we are to have a Mayor then we should have a democratically elected Mayor rather than one of the cronies that is chosen by the party in power. . . . .However the main stipulation should be that this Mayor should be independent and not toe any party line. . . . Let the voters decide, either an elected Mayor or non at all.
Ukip
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 11:24 AMThe Doncaster major seems to be doing a good job, he is certainly upsetting everybody on the council who squanders money and doesn't like the status quo being undermined.
Tawny
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 10:24 AMThe mayor, currently, is a ceremonial role. As I understand it, the money values being reported for the current mayoral role are basically for the costing of this ceremonial role. I would have thought that for an elected mayor these ‘ceremonial costs’ would still be present PLUS there will also be the additional cost for employing this elected mayor. I also believe the current mayor holds the role for a one year term and then someone else takes over the role. What will be the term of office for this elected mayor? The electorate of Sheffield are already up in arms over the daily cost of £558 per day for the current mayor just how much is an elected mayor going to cost on top of this plus the costs associated with any harebrained schemes that he\she comes up with. Will there also be a cost for the mayor deputy and will this be an elected position?
mjb66
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 08:09 PMNo thankyou. We the people will bring in our own investments, through art, sport, skills inventions and other ideas, not someone on top dosh, look what happened to doncaster. London isnt that brilliant if you think boris has done a good job.
Sir Taxedalot
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 03:48 PMI agree an elected mayor can make a difference. But, in Sheffield it won't because Labour will field one of their useless usual suspects. Then a hanful of numpties will turn out and vote them in. Then they'll just spend their time moaning about how bad Margaret Thatcher was for closing the steel industry and wringing their hands in grief rather than getting on and doing something useful for the people. Julie Dore does that well enough on her own. We don't need to waste more money on another one.
kayte
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 01:41 PMIn these days of austerity (when even weekly rubbish collection cannot be afforded) Sheffield should have neither an elected nor ceremonial mayor if this incurs any monetary cost. (I have no objection to anyone taking on the role for free!)
Observer3
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 12:24 PMAn invitation to appoint a dictator- or a numb skull like either of the pair who have held the similar post in Doncaster. Mayors Winter and Davies both demonstrated themselves to be self seeking individuals. Leaders are dictator enough we do not need a Mayor earning £50,000 or more per year.
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