Tories unveil elected mayor plans

Michael Donnelly, PlanningResource, 6 October 2009

Under the plans, announced yesterday by shadow communities secretary Caroline Spelman at the Tory Party Conference, voters in the areas would be given a referendum on whether they want their area run by one of the new 'executive mayors' instead of a chief executive.

Spelman said: "I want power back in the hands of our counties and districts, towns and cities. And we will give people in our 12 largest cities the choice of an elected mayor.

"I can announce that elected mayors will be able take over the powers of local authority chief executives.

Spelman said a Conservative green paper later in the year will give more details about the precise powers – including over regeneration and planning – which would be devolved to the executive mayors, but said they would have "genuine hands-on power" without "an unelected officer telling them what to do".

Spelman also hit out at Labour's regional spatial strategies. "Regionalism was John Prescott's vanity project and if we're elected it'll go – lock, stock and barrel," she said.


michael.donnelly@haymarket.com