Why are we petitioning Swindon Borough Council?

Because: In April 2008 an Institute of Public Policy Research report confirmed that elected Mayors have proved highly capable leaders overseeing improvements in the performance of their councils and developing innovative policies. The IPPR argued that having more towns and cities with mayors would potentially reinvigorate local politics.  It also recognised that the current system is biased against introducing them and a referendum to elect a mayor can only be triggered by a majority vote from councillors or a petition signed by five per cent of constituents.

The Local Government Act 2000 made local councils adopt modern management structures and for the first time gave the electorate the choice between directly electing a Mayor to lead their council or allowing a 'leader of the council' to be chosen by the largest political party in the council chamber.  The Act of Parliament is meant to further empower citizens to choose who leads them in local government.

In 2001, during a chaotic and angry council meeting, 55 Councillors denied the town, its people and itself a genuine opportunity to improve when it carried a motion rejecting public demand for an elected Mayor and taking the power to appoint leaders onto itself.

As per the terms of the Local Government Act 2000, the public of Swindon had to be, and were, consulted by the council before it changed its constitution. Unfortunately for Swindon, a couple of ambitious and ideally placed Councillors interpreted the consultation results in a manner biased toward preserving the status-quo of party politics.

We believe the motion should not have been passed by Swindon Borough Council on the 27th of September 2001. It is of great concern that the leadership structure the council has used ever since was nodded through without debate immediately after a vote of no confidence in the council and mass resignation of the cabinet. (Read below for more detail)

We Say...

• The public consultation data showed a clear majority supporting directly electing a Mayor for Swindon.

• The consultation report summary contradicted the results of several surveys and questionnaires carried out as part of the public consultation. The summary claimed that the consultation showed 'Little support' for an elected Mayor, and that the politically appointed 'Leader and Cabinet' model was the 'preferred' option.  We ask: 'Who preferred it?"

And We Know that...

• Sitting on the 2001 review panel, which was charged with considering the reports summary, and making a recommendation to the rest of the council, were the 3 leaders of the the political parties in Swindon. Sue Bates (Labour), Mike Bawden (Conservative) and Mike Evemy (Lib Dem). Each had a vested interest in the leader and cabinet model being adopted.

• The 2001 review panel met, reviewed the report summary, and decided to deliver their recommendation to council at a time of intense political and civic turmoil in Swindon, when perhaps it should have deferred it's decision to a later date.

• At the full council meeting on the 27th of September 2001 the review panel recommendation was placed, perhaps deliberately, a long way down the agenda as item 59: 'Council Constitution – Recommendations of the Review Panel on Consultation on New Political Structures'. Such an important item was preceded by discussions on minimum voting ages, garden composting, Swindon Town FC, waste plans, bus lanes and the local library plan.

But something huge happened before item 59 came up....

• Agenda item 49 was a Motion of 'No Confidence' in the council. It was 'moved' by leader of the Conservative group Councillor Mike Bawden and was only carried with the assistance of the Liberal Democrat leader Coucillor Mike Evemy and Councillors of both groups. (Remember Bawden & Evemy from the review panel?)

• The motion was successful. The Labour leader of the council, Sue Bates, and the entire Labour administration immediately resigned and the council meeting had to be adjourned for about 15 minutes while some order was restored.

• The councillors filed back into a chamber which now contained no leader and no executive members. Yet within a matter of minutes, every single remaining agenda item, including item 59, was 'put' to a vote and 'carried' with no discussion or debate.  To put it crudely, the remaining council business had been simply 'nodded through', after which the councillors rushed out of the chamber to discuss the nights excitement with their colleagues.

So, there you have it. A misleading, inaccurate report summary, politicians jockeying for control of your council with eyes firmly fixed on the 'leaders seat', and a successful power grab. In the middle of this political battle your right to choose who leads your council had fallen victim to party politics and been trampled by councillors determined to retain that power for themselves.

So what can we do now?

Luckily for us and in the interests of local democracy, the Local Government Act 2000, (and its 2007 amendments), encourage the electorate, (us voters), to force our council to hold a local referendum providing 5% of voters demonstrate their support.

If just 5% of Swindon's voters petition the council, it is required in law to hold the referendum

Let's start by reminding Councillors that our votes are important every day, not just on election days.