Elected Mayors

[mike11111]

I was pleased to see that most places holding referenda have voted against this concept, including Newcastle. I live in the neighbouring borough which has such a mayor. Given that local government is now firmly politicised we have the absurd situation of a Tory mayor and cabinet whose budget and policies will be hamstrung at every turn for the next year by a Labour council. This cannot be good for local government.

[New Judge]

Yes mike, it was good to see common sense prevail in those areas given their say.

The last thing anybody or any area needs is more elected politicians. In fact I would go further than that. I would suggest that all political forums and posts below the Westminster parliament should be abolished forthwith. There is no need for the devolved assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; no need for regional assemblies such as that in London (which was introduced under false pretences); no need for elected mayors; no need for local or county councils and no need for parish councils. All these “parliaments” and individuals are a huge waste of money and achieve very little that would not be achieved without them.

Couple that with a drastic reduction in the number of MPs (I would suggest 200 is more than adequate) and we would see tremendous savings and possibly even some decisions made in the interest of the UK electorate.

[jake-the-peg]

I think the Scots might disagree

They have consistantly voted against the Tory party to the point where it is now a complete farce.

If the devolved assembly in Scotland were abolished and Scotland was directly Governed by Tories in Westminster an independant Scotland would be a certainty.