The Government has today confirmed City Mayors are not being scrapped - and that all governance models, including Tudor Evans’ Leader and Cabinet system, will be under review.
It comes as Plymouth prepares for a referendum next month on how the city is run and gives residents the chance to opt for a directly elected leader.
Campaigning on both sides has been hotting up over the last few weeks, with Labour-led Plymouth Knows Better consistently pedaling the line that directly-elected Mayors will be scrapped and encouraging residents to vote against the proposal at the referendum on July 17.
This week South West Devon Conservative MP Rebecca Smith has challenged the Government to set the record straight so that Plymouth residents can make an informed choice on polling day and make their decision based on ‘clear facts, not confusion’. She said it was ‘unacceptable’ that city people are being asked to make a choice without clear information and that Plymouth ‘deserves transparency’.
Miss Smith had asked Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s department whether unitary councils like Plymouth would be able to adopt the Mayor and Cabinet model in the future following the English Devolution White Paper.
Today the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution Jim McMahon MP confirmed that “all governance models” were under review by his department. His response said:
“In the English Devolution White Paper, the Government made a commitment to consider the governance models available to local authorities across the sector. As part of wider reforms to the local government landscape, the department continues to review available governance models to ensure decision making is best supported at all levels of local government.”
Councils can be run in one of three governance models, under the Local Government Act 2000. These models are:
- A leader and cabinet
- A Directly Elected Mayor and cabinet
- A committee system
Now all three of these systems will be placed under review - including Councillor Tudor Evans’ own leader and cabinet model. That model has been in place since Plymouth became a unitary authority in 1998 and has led to 26 years of failure for the city according to the Mayor for Plymouth campaign.
Miss Smith had challenged the Government saying there was no “clear answer” and their responses had been “vague”. The Plymouth Knows Better campaign have continually falsely claimed City Mayors are being scrapped, in a bid to convince city residents not to vote for a directly elected leader on July 17.
Angus Forbes, from the Mayor for Plymouth Campaign, today said:
“For over a generation, the model of indirect democracy has failed Plymouth, leaving its citizens poor and the city a shadow of its former self. Quite rightly, the citizens of Plymouth don't trust the leadership of the city.
“We need to transfer power back to the people where it belongs, by way of direct democracy and the creation of a city Mayor, a leader chosen by the people for the people.
“Tudor Evans first became leader in 1998, and has held power for over 5,000 days. In a desperate bid to hold on to power and defend the current indefensible system, he has spread false information after false information.
“Firstly, Cllr Evans went on record saying that a Mayor would cost £1.5m, while we have proved that the average city Mayoral office costs £258k a year and in Plymouth’s case it would save Plymouth £250k a year.
“Secondly, nearly all of Plymouth’s councillors, including Cllr Evans, and his two prominent MPs, have purposely misled the citizens of Plymouth by saying that city mayors ARE being scrapped.”
He added:
“Today, the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon MP, has issued a statement in reply to Rebecca Smith MP’s question in Westminster. Mr McMahon has confirmed that in the English Devolution White Paper, the Government has made a commitment to review all governance models, including the current one used in Plymouth…to ensure decision making is best supported at all levels of Government.
“Plymouth Knows Better, the Plymouth Councillor’s propaganda machine, has been forced to change their campaign material. They now say that a Mayor “could” cost £1.5m, which is almost impossible to compute, and that a Mayor “could” be scrapped. Well so could the current model!
“That’s why no-one trusts these career politicians. They put their party, themselves and their rabid politics before their city. This must stop.
“On Thursday 17 July Plymothians face a simple choice: Choose a Mayor so that you end councillor failure, choose your leader and transform your city – or let councillors continue to choose amongst themselves and operate a governance structure that holds our entire city back.”
Plymouth voters are this week receiving polling cards through their doors, whilst postal votes are being sent to homes from tomorrow (June 21).
Yet there is widespread confusion on social media with residents claiming they don’t know what they are voting for - as the polling card only states it is for a “referendum on how Plymouth City Council is run” and no further explanation.
Under the current system the leader must be a councillor chosen by other councillors. But if the referendum is a success, people will be able to choose their leader directly from a wider range of candidates and who would then be directly accountable to the people of Plymouth.
If the city votes ‘yes’ next month, there will then be an election in May 2026 when the people of Plymouth will be able to vote for their leader directly - from a wider range of candidates, who importantly will not need to be political.
Read more on Plymouth's Mayoral Referendum:
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