Date set for referendum on mayor for Plymouth
Plymouth City Council has to hold a referendum after a campaign, led by Angus Forbes, former banker and husband of celebrity dancer Darcey Bussell, gathered more than 10,000 signatures in favour of the process.
Opponents said the campaign was based on false promises and hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on it would be a waste of money.
Campaigners for the referendum, due to be held on Thursday 17 July, claimed it was a chance to change how the city was run.
If Plymouth residents vote in favour of a directly-elected mayor, the first elections will be held in May 2026.
At a heated meeting at Plymouth City Council, members expressed their frustration with the process that the council said would cost about £410,000.
Several councillors spoke about other areas such as Bristol, Liverpool and Torbay which have had directly elected mayors but then abolished the posts.
The leader of the Labour-led council, Tudor Evans, said there was a great difference between a possible mayor for Plymouth and the directly-elected mayors in London and Greater Manchester who have greater powers.
Evans also pointed to the current reorganisation of local government taking place, in which the government has indicated it wants to scrap directly-elected mayors for single authorities such as Plymouth in favour of mayors for combined authorities.
The city council's chief executive, Tracey Lee, acknowledged the reorganisation as a potential risk and said talks were ongoing with the government.
Forbes claimed the cost of the referendum was "the best money a Plymouth taxpayer could ever spend to change to a successful system of direct democracy".
He said the current system had "failed to grow the economy".
Forbes said: "Our greatest opportunity is to have a place-based leader to galvanise us, to unify us with a vision for Plymouth, and to be an ambassador, to attract private capital and private citizens to come to Plymouth."
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