More than 11,000 signatures have been collected by Doncaster residents in a local campaign to force a referendum to remove the directly-elected mayor Martin Winter.
The local authority has been asked to formally consider the petition at the next full council meeting, due to be held this Monday 26 February, when a report on allegations of bullying will also be discussed.
Neil Swan, a former councillor and member of the group Fair Deal, which has organised the petition, said the action was being taken because of the unfair democratic system currently in place.
‘This lack of democracy is leading to a marginalisation of elected members,’ he told The MJ. ‘There are 62 councillors with virtually no influence. One man has been given the power to do what he wants, and this has created a really bad atmosphere.’ Mr Swan added that there had been a general ‘erosion’ of the system and a feeling that the role of mayor was not working.
The petition was organised before campaigners discovered a majority council vote in favour would trigger a referendum, and the formal motion calls for a referendum no later than May 2008. Mr Winter’s term of office is due to end in 2009.
A 2004 BMG report, which investigated claims of bullying within the council, will also be discussed by councillors. Former managing director, Susan Law, left following a well-publicised fall-out with Mr Winter (The MJ, 8 February 2007).
Ms Law’s £120,000 departure settlement will also be discussed.
For background stories on Doncaster, search The MJ’s news archive at www.localgov.co.uk
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