The campaign for a directly elected Mayor for Plymouth has today said it will see the Government in the High Court after it confirmed it will attempt to block the city’s democratic choice to elect its own leader.
A referendum on how the city is run will take place on Thursday 17th July, with residents choosing whether they want the city to be run by a councillor-chosen leader and cabinet, or if they want a more democratic directly elected leader and cabinet model.
Yesterday Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution Jim McMahon MP announced no new city mayors would be created. The 13 current directly-elected council mayors would continue but that the Government would not support the ‘creation of new ones’.
He confirmed the inaugural election of a Mayor of Plymouth would be delayed from May 2026, as is set out in current legislation, to May 2027, should the people of Plymouth vote Yes on July 17th.
But today the man behind the Mayor for Plymouth Campaign, Angus Forbes, accused the Government of betraying democracy, current legislation and the people of Plymouth. He said Mr McMahon’s proposals are not covered by current law, and that he will challenge them in the High Court.
He also said opponents Labour-run Plymouth Knows Better have broken the rules of the referendum by using the Electoral Roll to canvass in their campaign when its use is forbidden in this referendum by the Electoral Officer and Counting Officer of Plymouth City Council.
He said:
“HM Government is willing to put the suffering of tens of thousands of its citizens to the side, in pursuit of the retention of political power. They are betraying democracy, current legislation, and the citizens of Plymouth.
“Plymothians want change, they want better democracy, they want their voice to be heard.
“Throughout our campaign to change a suboptimal governance structure that has failed the citizens of Plymouth for a generation, the Mayor For Plymouth campaign has operated under current legislation, the Local Government Act 2000. The 13,800 Plymothians who signed the petition for change, did so under current legislation.
“Their petition triggered Plymouth's referendum under current legislation. We intend to win the referendum on 17th July, and current legislation grants us our first Mayor in May 2026.
“If HM Government tries to stop us on the grounds of some prospective legislation, we will see them in the High Court where we will win.”
He added:
“Indirect democracy is a model of governance that rarely works, which is why direct democracy, leadership of place with power invested in the citizenship is used in cities across the world. There are now 27 Mayors in England, 13 of which are city mayors.
“Plymouth has 78,000 citizens, or 30% of our city living in poverty, VAWG at 28% versus the national average of 16%, it is the worst city for third generation poverty in the country, the worst city for potholes in the country, no airport, an ugly city centre and is rapidly moving towards £1bn of debt. The situation is untenable and the citizens are suffering.
“Along with the blatant use of the Electoral Roll by the Plymouth Labour Party when its use was forbidden for this referendum, Jim McMahon’s statement yesterday makes it absolutely clear that HM Government is willing to put the suffering of tens of thousands of its citizens to the side, in pursuit of the retention of political power.
“They are betraying democracy, current legislation, and the citizens of Plymouth. The final check and balance of a government’s power is always the people and it is this union of the people of Plymouth that will prevail against authoritarianism, fear and intimidation.”
The Government’s statement said the Labour government will now push to legislate and standardise the ‘Leader and Cabinet model’.
But Mayor for Plymouth campaigners say that the referendum is taking place under current law, not a prospective law that has not yet been passed, and that this is a once-in-a-generation chance for city people to make a real difference.
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