Mayor vs Leader

Well, I say new, turns out the mayor has been re-elected, now in the post for her ninth successive term.

And I sat and I read that and I thought, ‘I never even knew we had a mayor.’ And then I thought, ‘Shouldn’t they be elected?’ Now - and forgive me here for my original blindness to this whole situation - but I would have thought that the position of mayor, of leader of an area, of a figurehead who, laden with tradition, is pivotal to a town, should be something we should have a say in.

With such an historical position, why did we not, as residents, as citizens with an obligation to vote, get to directly elect them?

Well, as it happens, there are two mayoral election systems: directly elected vs. local-authority elected.

Directly elected mayors were introduced under a tirade of controversy in London in 2000. The idea was that this person would be elected into the role by the public; whereas local authority mayors – like the Dursley role - are chosen by our local councillors, picking their candidate from already elected council members.

This type of mayor has similar powers to a Leader, say, of a Cabinet, and, like a directly elected mayor is, wait for it, accountable for their actions.

Now, call me daft (actually, don’t), but I see two problems with all this.

One: there is seemingly minimum difference between each mayoral role; and two, it is all about power.

And it is that power, that ability to wield decisions - that is what it is all about. Because the role of mayor is synonymous with power and with power comes a cloud that distorts what really needs to be done, what really matters. And what really matters is not status or tradition, but issues and lives.

So, why do we not just take it away, this power role of mayor - one that can confusingly be either elected directly by the people or chosen quietly by a cabinet - and have simply a leader instead?

That way, instead of the focus being about power, pomp and tradition, we can have a focus of doing good, of making change, of speaking for the people. Now that’s something I would like to read about.

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