Yahoo News Bid for elected mayor in Plymouth takes massive step forward
The campaign to bring Plymouth under a directly elected mayor has launched its slogan with a large lorry showing it off in the city centre. The Yesdemplymouth movement is publicising the slogan “when did the council last listen to you?”, with a line adding: “an elected mayor will”.
The notice, on a large electronic screen carried by the flatbed lorry, went on to say “Yesdemplymouth is not political party-affiliated, we only seek to improve the way Plymouth is run”. The movement is fronted by Angus Forbes, the husband of ballerina and former Strictly Come Dancing judge Darcey Bussell.
He stressed he is not a member or supporter of either the Labour or Conservative parties and is a businessman, not a politician, and doesn’t want to be mayor himself. The former-stockbroker said the campaign only wants a referendum and to give Plymouth people the opportunity of following other cities with a directly elected mayor.
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The names of 5% of the electorate are needed to trigger a referendum on whether Plymouth should have a directly elected mayor. Mr Forbes said this would equate to 9,800 signees, who must sign a physical petition, not an online one.
He first spoke about the campaign in May and the petition was launched then. The official launch will be in the second half of July.
“We wanted to give the general election respect and space,” he said. “This is a local constitutional issue which is pro-democracy.
“The petition is up now. In the coming weeks you will see people with forms around the city centre. But if they want to register with us they can go to the website yesdemplymouth.com .”
Mr Forbes stressed he had “zero affiliation” to any political party. He said: “I’m not a member of any party, I’m interested in giving the people of Plymouth the option for change.”
There are 25 directly elected mayors or metro mayors in England, who hold executive power, but can delegate it, elected every four years. The system was brought in in 2000 in London.
Plymouth rejected a directly elected mayor in a referendum in 2001 and last year withdrew from a proposed devolution deal for Devon which could have led to an elected mayor for a combined Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay. Cornwall also scrapped a devolution deal with an elected mayor last year.
Mr Forbes, who has lived in Plymouth for two years and is on the electoral roll, said that if enough signatures were collected to launch a referendum it would be held in May 2026. He said: “There would be 18 months of debate on whether people want that constitutional change.”
He said if a referendum is triggered Yesdemplymouth will disband. If the referendum returns a “yes” vote, he won’t stand as a candidate and Yesdemplymouth will not endorse any candidates.
Mr Forbes said an elected mayoral system would be no more expensive than the current system with its council leader. He said it would bring democratic legitimacy, investment into the city, accountability and the ability to measure the elected mayor against objectives, and attract a wider talent pool to the post.
“We would attract talent within the city that would never stand as councillors,” he said. “They (candidates) may choose to go with a major party, or be independent or form their own party.
“It gives them a direct route and the people of Plymouth a good array of talent to choose from.”
Among campaign supporters at the slogan launch, Charlotte Ashcroft-Booth, who works in social media, said: “Plymouth is so divided, it swings between blue and red, but this gives an opportunity for an independent, someone that does not represent a party but represents the people of Plymouth.”
Craig Lewis, a builder, said: “I don’t know about politics, I always thought my vote didn’t count. I sat on the fence for many months and did some research myself and think it (a directly elected mayor) will present a better opportunity for the community.”
Paul Montgomery, better known as locksmith Sir Fix-a-lock, said having a leader for a four-year term, rather than via council elections in three out of four years, would bring stability and said: “You can’t get a job done when too much is moving around. This is the way forward.
“And it’s not party biased, it is for Plymouth. We want to follow other great cities in the UK, like Manchester, which is booming while we are left behind.”
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