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Poll campaigners take to the streets
CAMPAIGNERS battling for a referendum on elected mayors are taking to the city centre streets next weekend as the petition nears it anniversary deadline.
Voters in Birmingham have just one month to demand their right to decide how their city is run by signing up for a referendum on whether the city should be run by elected mayor.
Organisers of the petition are confident that they will be handing in a five-figure number of signatures to the city council in March.
But in a final push campaigners are holding a final day of action on Saturday, February 23.
Among them will be Birmingham's Labour Party who will be targeting shoppers in the city centre on the day.
Deputy leader of the Labour group Ian Ward said: "This is an important decision which should be taken by the people of Birmingham not by the city council leadership.
"The only way people can demand that right to decide is by signing the petition."
Other groups backing the petition include the Birmingham Citizens, a coalition of inner-city community and faith groups, Institute of Directors, the Birmingham Forward group of young business people, the University of Birmingham Guild of Students and a majority of city MPs including West Midlands Minister Liam Byrne and Conservative shadow minister for Birmingham Andrew Mitchell.
The campaign also has the support of the leaders of all three main political parties - Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg.
Only Birmingham's ruling Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition opposes the referendum and they are the ones who have the power to decide on a vote unless a significantly large petition convinces the Government to order one.
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