Labour leader Sir Albert Bore in call over elected mayor
BIRMINGHAM Labour leader Sir Albert Bore is urging political activists to start a petition demanding the city be run by a directly-elected mayor.
His call came after the city council, controlled by a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, again refused to hold a referendum on the mayoral issue.
Most of the 81 coalition councillors want to continue with the existing system, where Tory Mike Whitby leads the council along with nine cabinet members.
The 2007 Local Government Act requires all councils to consult voters and to say whether they wish to move to a mayoral model.
A full city council meeting this week rejected holding a referendum, with several councillors arguing that people would not understand the issues.
The stance is at odds with Conservative Party policy.
David Cameron has promised to hold mayoral referendums in Birmingham and other major English cities if he wins the next general election.
Sir Albert accused Coun Whitby of “bullying” his fellow Tories to vote against a referendum.
He said: “Once again, the Conservative group on the city council has demonstrated that it has no regard for the views of the people of Birmingham.
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