Elected mayor plan doomed

The mayor would be based in the Council House

Plans for an elected mayor in Birmingham have almost been killed off after councillors rejected the proposals.

City councillors voted by 88 to eight to keep the current system of government of a council leader and cabinet.

The decision reflects a recent pole of people living in Birmingham where nearly half the votes backed the current model.

But a referendum on the issue could still be ordered by the Local Government Minister Nick Raynsford.

Persuasion impossible

An elected mayor would run the council's £2bn budget and manage its 49,000 employees.

At a full council meeting on Thursday the council leader, councillor Albert Bore, admitted that he could not persuade councillors to back the elected mayor option.

"I am under no illusion that I can persuade the majority of city councillors to vote for an elected mayor."

But he continued his support for the plans which he said would bring an "active, in-touch" administration to the city.

Cllr Albert Bore could not persuade councillors

The results of the city-wide poll on the future of local government in the city, in which 220,000 people voted, showed 46.4% supported the leader and cabinet system, 40.2% backed a directly-elected mayor and cabinet and 13.4% wanted a directly-elected mayor and council manager.

Cllr Bore argued that with more than 50% of people backing the second two options there was majority support for an elected mayor.

During the Thursday meeting cllr Mike Whitby, deputy Conservative leader who has staunchly opposed the mayor option, warned against "mathematical manipulation" of the poll result.

"The virtue of a first-past-the-post system is that you don't have to be a professor to work out who won.

'Issue closed'

"We will be doing the citizens of Birmingham a disservice it we fudge the result."

Cllr Stewart Stacey said the issue had been decided.

"The people of Birmingham consider the issue closed.

"They know how they voted and we should let the issue lie."

Cllr David Williams, secretary of the Labour group, said the executive powers of the proposed mayor were a "medieval" invention and warned against American-style politics.

"In America there are 54 mayors currently in jail awaiting trial on corruption charges.