What's New with B.O.L.D.?
FACTS AND FIGURES TO SUPPORT MAYOR/MANAGER STRUCTURE

The history of central government's approach to local government has been to endeavour to strike a balance between the incompatible demands of community, continuity, democracy and efficiency. The Elected Mayor and Council Manager arrangement along with the content of the proposals is designed to achieve the optimum blend.

A MORI poll in Apr 1998 found voting for a directly elected Mayor would make 29% of irregular voters more likely to vote in a local election. Further, 49% of those surveyed by ICM in Feb 2000 would be likelier to vote if voting for a Mayor.

According to the Widdicombe Report vol 2 1986, people are more likely to vote if they know candidates. A contest for an elected Mayor will concentrate on named individuals and will be high-profile thereby heightening the electorate's knowledge of the candidates.

44% of those polled considered councils remote and impersonal and PR would increase the likelihood of them voting, from Local Govt Chronicle May 1998. The London Mayoral ballot used PR and this is the model for Mayoral elections elsewhere.

In the survey of British Social Attitudes 1995, merely 54% of respondents thought that the way people vote in local elections is the main thing that decides how things are run in the area. An ICM poll conducted in April 2000 found that 54% of those surveyed thought that having a directly elected Mayor would provide more accountability. The Town Assemblies will bring decisions back to the 'grass roots'. The elected Mayor with a direct mandate from voters throughout Tameside will hold greater democratic legitimacy. This will enable the Mayor to be more influential with central government and to recover the democratic deficit created by too much central intervention.

The aforesaid survey also contained a figure of 30% of participants who felt that local elections were sometimes so complicated that they were at a loss as to who to vote for. Also Local Govt Chronicle reported in May 1999, that 71% of people knew little or virtually nothing about their local council and 50% wanted to become more involved in it. The elected Mayor/Council Manager arrangement is well-defined with clearly separate responsibilities. The Town Assemblies structure will produce a sharper and narrower focus on local elections, candidates and council business.

The trend is for councils to be run along company lines to encourage efficiency. The elected Mayor/Council manager combination is equivalent to the Chairman/Chief Executive corporate relationship.