Major flaws in mayoral plan

IF the Government believes that directly-elected mayors is the way to govern Yorkshire's cities in the future, then Ministers should submit their plans to a referendum vote straight away.

They should not, however, foist this flawed concept on councils before a public vote – now likely to be staged in 2012 – in the hope that voters can be won over by Ministers playing for time.

Just look at Doncaster which has become one of the worst performing councils in the country since residents started electing the town's mayor in 2002.

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The political infighting has been endemic and destabilising, with neither Martin Winter – nor his successor Peter Davies – able to rise above the fray, offer strong leadership and forge effective working relationships with key colleagues.

It's also disingenuous for Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to cite, in his defence, London and how the mayoral scheme has benefited the city. That maybe so – and the capital certainly needed a more effective means to co-ordinate policies, like transport and policing, across every borough.

Yet it is difficult to see how such an approach will benefit individual cities like Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and Wakefield. Of course, councils need to work together to co-ordinate the region's economic response to this recession following Yorkshire Forward's demise.

That goes without saying. But it should not require the creation of elected mayors for this to happen. And what difference will it make if council leaders become unelected mayors in the meantime ahead of the 2012 poll?

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It's only going to engender suspicion about the Government's motives at a time when the leader of every council – a high-profile position in its own right, and with sweeping powers – will have their work cut out implementing the cuts that will emanate from today's local government spending settlement that is likely to be draconian at best.

With the savings likely to be "frontloaded", the consequences will be serious and see, for example, the elderly paying for vital care services that were previously free. These changes will test council leaders to the limit – without the added distraction of the Government trying to impose a major bureaucratic upheaval that might, or might not, benefit Yorkshire's major cities.