Whitby: No to referendum

Birmingham's council leader Mike Whitby today declared: "There will be no referendum on an elected mayor".

He said there was no interest or appetite in the debate - and any city-wide poll would cost taxpayers at least £350,000. And he criticised a small band of campaigners behind a so-called 'big debate'.

Their campaign recently attracted just 82 people to a public meeting in Birmingham.

He said they should either put up or shut up by finding the 35,000 names needed on a petition that would legally enforce a referendum.Mr Whitby said the calls for an elected mayor were distracting attention from the real changes needed to improve local democracy.

He said: "In March 2001, the previous council leader Albert Bore spent £80,000 on a pro-mayor publicity campaign which included hundreds of thousands of leaflets along with 10,000 postcards, visits to schools and a telephone hotline. As a result the council only received 76 responses, which worked out at a staggering £1,053 for every response."

He said this was followed in September 2001 with a referendum, with 46 per cent of respondents voting for the leader and cabinet; 40 per cent for a mayor and cabinet, and 13 per cent for a mayor and city manager.

Mr Whitby said the public did not want an elected mayor, just better services locally. He said: "The UK as a whole sees an iniquitous share of its wealth focused on, and spent, in London.

"Against this backdrop the issue of an elected mayor is a red herring. They will not bring with them any extra money."

Mr Whitby's Progressive Partnership this week re-vealed a below inflation council tax rise of 1.9 per cent.

EXCLUSIVE by Dave Lawley