Victory: Salford businessman celebrates after collecting enough signatures to force elected-mayor vote
A disgruntled Salford businessman is celebrating the success of his petition after a referendum was announced into a directly elected mayor for the council.
Working alongside the Northwest English Democrat Party, Geoffrey Berg gathered over 10,500 signatures since the campaign began in January 2011.
Mr Berg has said he is delighted that the people of Salford will get the chance to change the city council which he said had become “complacent” after 40 years of Labour rule.
Chief Executive of Salford City Council, Barbara Spicer confirmed that for a referendum to be held a petition needed more than 5% of the local electorate according to the Local Government Act.
Reaching this target the referendum question will go ahead as follows: “Should the electors for the area of Salford elect a Mayor who, with a Cabinet, will be in charge of our local services and lead Salford City Council?”
A spokesman for the council said: "If the electorate votes in favour of the elected mayor a mayoral election will be held later in 2012. If they vote against it the current system with a leader and cabinet model will remain and it will not be possible to hold a further referendum on this subject for another ten years.”
Stephen Morris, the English Democrats’ North West Area Chairman, said: “I am delighted that here in Salford we are leading the way to a better and more open local democracy for the people of Salford City.
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Salford has long needed a leader who will fight for Salford and have the democratic clout to do so.”
The date for the election has been moved from October to May 2012, coinciding with the council’s general election.
Alongside this, critics are vocalising concerns over the cost of a referendum after it was revealed it would cost the council £200,000.
Labour Council Leader John Merry has spoken out against an elected mayor criticising it as an “American-style city boss.”
He said: “People believe that they are just having a bigger say in who the Mayor should be. But this vote is about whether power is spread out among the community or concentrated in one person.”
Salford Council are now urging residents and businesses in the area to go online and have their say on the referendum itself.
A spokesperson for the council confirmed the electors would be able to vote by post and polling station but could give no further details at this time.
According to the Local Government Act (2001) the council must send the proposal of the referendum along with steps that have been taken to consult with the local electors.
For this reason a council spokesman claimed too much was up in the air to speculate on a result..
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