Council's '26 years of failure'

Ahead of a city-wide referendum which is confirmed taking place on July 17, the 'yes' campaign say a mayor is essential for our economic future

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CAMPAIGNERS for a directly elected Mayor say the way the city has been run for the last 26 years is costing Plymouth £4.6 billion a year in lost GDP.

A referendum is taking place this summer after over 10,800 Plymothians signed a petition for the chance to change the way the city is run.

On Thursday July 17, Plymouth people will have the opportunity to change the way the leader of PCC is selected. They can choose to continue with the current system whereby the leader is an elected councillor and is chosen by the other elected councillors. This is indirect democracy.

Or they can vote to have a leader who can be any Plymouth citizen and is chosen directly by Plymouth citizens – direct democracy.

It also means that anyone can put themselves forward to lead the city, they don’t have to be a councillor. Residents will be more likely to choose from the very best leadership talent the city has to offer from manufacturing, the armed forces, health, education, business or the arts.

They will then be chosen directly by the people they will serve and be accountable to them for four years. Campaigners also claim having a Mayor will save the city over £250k a year.

Today the man behind the Mayor for Plymouth campaign, Angus Forbes, said the last 26 years since Plymouth became a Unitary Authority has been ‘26 years of failure’ involving finances, the number of people living in poverty, the city’s ‘stagnant’ economy, the appalling level of violence against women and girls, low wages, and its ‘unattractive’ city centre.

He believes the current system has failed to grow Plymouth’s economy because the councillors have not met their own targets, set out in the 2020 Vision for Plymouth published in 2003 under Cllr Tudor Evans.