Whilst the control of Swindon Council was descending into chaos in late September, after the ruling Labour group resigned following a vote of no confidence, a litte noticed decision at the very same meeting voted to reject the idea of a directly elected mayor and continue the unsatisfactory leader and cabinet system of running the council.

Martha Parry argues that the issue of having a mayor elected by all the people of the town has not been adequately explained or discussed and suggests the council should take a radical step to engage its citizens in the way Swindon is run.



The most common reason people give for not voting is that their vote doesn't make any difference ­ 'the same people will get in, and they will do what they want; so why bother going to the polls?'

These people are not lazy. They are making a point that the democratic system does not involve them. With the recent carry on in the Swindon Council chamber and the inner circles of the cabinet, people have every reason to be even more confused and frustrated by the quality and unresponsiveness of their local council.

At present elections take place in wards across the town for candidates, usually linked with a political party. The party with the most councillors gets to run the council - except in Swindon none of the three parties had an overall majority in May 2000, and even now Labour refuses to work with the other parties, despite the widely expressed public view that all parties need to work together for the good of the town.

Recent changes driven by the Local Government Act 2000 have streamlined the old committee system into a cabinet system, which makes the process of decision making even less open to the input of minority parties, let alone all voters.

So we had Sue Bates, who recently resigned as council leader, voted in by 576 people (voter turnout 15%) in Gorse Hill Ward, chosen as Labour Group leader by an unknown number of the 29 Labour councillors.

New leader of the council is Mike Bawden of the Conservative Party. He was elected with 1,918 votes in Lawn and Old Town Ward (voter turnout 49%) and chosen leader of his party group by an unknown number of the 22 Conservative councillors. Holding the balance on the council are 8 Liberal Democrat councillors, three from one ward, Freshbrook and Grange Park.

I hold no personal party allegiance, yet I wonder if Mike Bawden really has any clearer mandate to lead than Sue Bates had? I am not being personal here, but making a point of principle.

The Local Government Act 2000 also required councils to consult their people about electing a Mayor to lead the authority. But how many people knew that this took place during the summer, let alone were involved? Nine per cent of people responded in a household survey.

As reported in last month's Link the consultation nationally was seriously flawed because the votes in favour of an elected Mayor were split between two options.

The Swindon Citizen's Panel (a group of 2,640 voters more in the know) were asked to comment and 56% chose one of the two forms of directly elected mayor on offer. However the council decided to stay with the present party/leader/cabinet system, chosen by 44% of the panel. Clearly there is still an unanswered question as to what Swindon people want.

Far from the berobed and chained ceremonial position at present, candidates for the modern mayor would stand for election across the whole town and campaign in all wards on a manifesto for the direction of the town. They would be voted on by ALL the 120,000 registered voters, across Swindon's 22 wards. The winner would then have a four year term in which to execute their manifesto and stand before the voters at the end of that period.

This is how it is done across Canada and the USA, and local government in these places IS more responsive to local voters who are more engaged in the management of their town. In France the system puts even more power in the hands of the Mayor.

I originally thought of raising a petition which, if signed by 6,000 local electors could force a referendum on whether voters wish to directly elect a Mayor. However, a Home Office civil servant has told me that a petition would not be able to trigger a referendum in time for the local elections next May. If the petition was successful, it would mean only a referendum in May, then possibly elections to choose a Mayor in October. This would cause unnecessary disruption, given that the council year starts in May.

But there is another way to achieve reform within a practical timeframe: the council itself could still decide to hold a referendum by post in January. If the outcome was for change, then Mayoral candidates could present themselves at next May's elections.

If you would like to see a directly elected mayor in Swindon - even if you only agree that the voters should decide what they want - I hope this article encourages you to contact your local councillors calling for a postal referendum in January 2002.

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