Petition calling for referendum on Democratically Elected Mayor is lodged with Plymouth City Council
The campaign to see Plymouth vote for a democratically elected mayor has taken a big step forward.
- Petition for Referendum Surpasses Target – The YesDemPlymouth campaign has gathered 13,250 signatures, exceeding the required 9,700, triggering a potential referendum on introducing a directly elected mayor for Plymouth.
- Calls for Governance Reform – Campaign founder Angus Forbes argues that Plymouth’s current leadership model has failed to address key issues, citing economic stagnation, high poverty rates, and struggles in business growth.
- Potential Regional Impact – The push for a directly elected mayor aligns with the UK government’s devolution plans, which could see Plymouth play a key role in a future South West Peninsula Mayoral Strategic Authority.
Organisers needed just under 9,700 signatures to require the City Council to hold a referendum on the election of a mayor and have now secured 13,250 signatures. The petition was lodged with the Electoral Services Officer at midday on January 14.
Founder of the YesDemPlymouth campaign Angus Forbes said that his supporters wanted to see Plymouth’s current governance structure reformed to introduce direct democracy enabling Plymouth residents to directly elect its own leader.
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The campaign was launched just over six months ago by Angus, a former banker and stockbroker who is the husband of Strictly Come Dancing judge Dame Darcy Bussell. The couple live in Plymouth and Darcy is currently chair of the board of trustees of Theatre Royal Plymouth.
He maintained that the current governance model had failed the city and its residents, particularly in the areas of economic growth, population growth and poverty levels.
He said:
“Over the last 25 years since Plymouth became a unitary authority, 30 per cent of the population has remained in poverty as defined by the ONS index of deprivation. Violence against Women and Girls represents 28 per cent of violent crime in the city, compared with a national average of 17 per cent.
We rank the worst of all English cities for third generation poverty, the worst for night time economy, recently the worst for ambulance queues and almost the worst city for business density and business start-ups.
He added:
“With respect to the Government’s White Paper on English devolution: At the time of submission, the DEM campaign team are mindful of the Government’s desire for material change in local governance structures across England, and their ambition for a SW Peninsula Mayoral Strategic Authority (SW PMSA) with a directly elected mayor, indicating their support of direct democracy.
“In light of the fact that three or four Unitary Authorities for Devon and Cornwall sitting under the new SW PMSA structure may well be where the situation settles, with one of these being a materially expanded Plymouth Unitary Authority, we hope that in future the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the new legislation is consistent in permitting the citizens of Plymouth to also directly elect their leader.”
