Leicester elected mayor plans move forward
Leicester city councillors have given the go-ahead to a period of consultation to help them determine whether the city should have an elected mayor. Councillors voted in favour of the consultation at a special meeting of the full council.
The deadline for making a decision on whether the city should have an elected mayor is 31 December this year.
Both present and previous governments have already said they want major cities, including Leicester, to consider changing the way they are run and to look at the pros and cons of having an elected mayor. Currently there are 13 elected mayors in England.
A referendum should be held before Leicester introduces a directly elected mayor. That's the view of Max Boden, policy manager of the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce, which recently held an event exploring the possibility.
President-elect of the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce Rick Moore has indicated he would like to stand as an independent candidate. But the chamber's policy manager Max Boden told Insider he would like a city-wide referendum on Leicester having an elected mayor before plans are put in motion.
If Leicester did decide to have an elected mayor, it could be the biggest city outside London to have such a civic leader.
