Gerry Doyle
I can't believe how ill-informed some of these comments are. The City is in a mess, Capital of Culture is shaping up to be yet another fiasco and we've gone from a Council Leader with a part-time job to one with a full-time job. How many more screw-ups are we going to put up with before we demand some real change? I don't know if an elecetd Mayor is the answer to all our problems but I don know that the system we have right now is a disaster. Maybe I mix in strange circles but everybody i know seems to think that the mayor idea is worth a try. Good on you Liam for having the guts to stand up!
brenda houghton
An elected mayor would show exactly where the buck stops, and give a public face to Liverpool on TV,radio etc. Just be sure to vote for a dynamic, honest, vigorous candidate...
Margaret Rutherford
I cannot see that adding another layer of 'government' will help anyone. Yet another election when people cannot even be bothered to use their democractic right in Local or General Elections! Presumably the candidates for Mayor would be politicians of one shade or another anyway. It would also have ongoing and considerable extra cost -referendum and election etc and don't think the benefits would outweigh this. Our Council is democratically elected. I think it preferable to have a Mayor who is someone who has served the City well during their life and is rewarded in this way, so long as it is not someone from the all to powerful and undemocratic Corporate world!
kathy byrne
now, if,If liverpool had an elected mayor i would like to see ken dodd to be elected., as he is the only one i consider suitable. because the politions just fight with one another, pulling each one apart where as ken dodd would get voted on his credeits of his services and i can only say to have an elected mayer would be somebody who has given 100% as to the so much work he has done for the liverpool and Merseysiders and over a wide area and region too that has put all his working [entertaining-wise] values.
David Taylor
Just money wasted by more fools with no love for the city, what liverpool needs is strong business heads and less Council workers more jobs come on get a move on Liverpool
Build a link to the Airport. Are Council are are thick and slow. David Taylor 15
Les F
I am in favour if it will halt the shambles we see now
Paul Maxwell
Would you rather have a professional running your city or an amateur ? Because right now the amateurs running the city can fall back on their safe little jobs if it all goes wrong.
Dave - Tuebrook
There's already a problem of excessive concentration of authority in the City, and not enough accountability for those wielding that authority. If we had a bigger & grander focal point for the City, I think the lack of accountability and the often domineering style of City leaders would be worse.
Brooks
Definitely no elected Mayor
John - Hunts Cross
I agree with the majority of voters in your survey that an elected mayor is not the right idea. As a retired local government officer I have observed with horror the reduction in real democracy (the Council controlled in effect by about ten councillors - with the remainder largely impotent - and no real opposition, plus the vastly increased power of unaccounatble officers). Ever since the unneccessary 1974 reorganisation(created by an early example of the craze to 'modernise')national government has grabbed any opportunity to waeken local government and the elected mayoral suggestion, linked with the obsession with regionalisation, are more manifestations of this agenda. What is needed in Liverpool is to return to a proper accountable committee system where officers are held accountable for their advice and the elected members take on once again the reigns of authority.
Tom
It is right that Liverpool should have elected Mayor after all we live in a great City we need some one the people of the City can choose as a leader of are City after all we have a democracy
jim wright
If having an elected mayor means the city will be run by some one who puts Liverpool first and not the size of his salary or pension, then it would be an improvement.Lets get off our asses, pick up our shovels and build a Liverpool we can be proud of! (Manchester have left us behind)
iain T
Only if the Govt. agreed to make it a Mayor for Greater Lpool (including Sefton & Knowsley). I don't think the Wirral would go for it - worse luck! Good luck to getting the 17k signatures!
Sam Hill
No definately not! I live in the wirral and it would be totally overlooked.
p h cann
anything would be better than the crowd that pretend to run our city now
irene
its time for the people to choose the mayor, then if they do not like what he does, they only have themselves to blame and will do better the next time.
James Hogan
Liverpool needs to be taken in a new direction.
An elected mayor is exellent idea. Should have been done years ago.
Glyn Jones
Expensive rubbish.
Andrew - Woolton
Recent events suggest that the people of Liverpool do not want to waste money on this project or another referendum. Even if they did there is no one of the appropriate stature.
James
Yes I agree to the idea of an elected mayor. However, unless, as Richard identifies, there is a wholesale change to the quango'ism that drains energy and clear decision making, the role of an elect mayor might not be tenable.
I would suggest the elected persons background has to be firmly roooted in the private sector. We have had too many unelected chairs and members of these quangos who have come from public sector backgrounds. These 'usual suspects' whilst well meaning do not in my view have necessary skills and drive to deliver. This is bourne out by the considerable number of grand initiatives that have failed to materialise in recent years. Seems no individual was to blame reading the obligatory post mortems on why they failed. The buck has to stop somewhere. Why not then, with an elected mayor?
Kevin Humphreys
Lets have a Mayor for Liverpool and our Capitol Of Culture 2008. We will need to greet visitors to the city at the time and leading up to the event. We don't need a costly referendum. Put the money into a good project instead.
BILL
WHY ALL THE MOANING ABOUT A WASTE OF MONEY - LETS HAVE AN ELECTED MAYOR - THE COUNCIL'S MONEY WILL ALWAYS BE WASTED -SO WHAT
John Newman
we should elect our mayor as long as there is no cost. these thigs have a way of costing a lot of money. the mayor's expenses could be paid for by commercial sponsorship
Jack Williams
A Mayor does not do anything relevant. It is a waste of money to pay an out of shape old man to wear a silly necklace.
James
£385,000 to hold a referendum on an elected mayor - what a waste of money. I know hundreds of things the money could be better spent on. Has anyone got any proof from the 12 Mayors that they do a better job than the present system?
karen hurst
Waste of council tax money and then stuck with one person who can dictate how the city is run with little or no opposition for 4 years (No Chance!!!!)
Richard
An elected Mayor in Liverpool will just raise people's hopes and yet still won't be able to get round the problem of all the quangoes, agencies and other bits of central government that hold so many projects back.
The one good thing about this mayoral referendum campaign is that at least now we know why Radio Merseyside have been so anti-council over the last year. Liam said he had been talking to people about this for "twelve months" and he has been running Radio Merseyside all that time. No wonder it is now giving him all this free advertising. Good to see that my licence fee is providing at least part of Mr Fogarty's funding, but I still wonder where the rest is coming from!
Paul - Mossley Hill
No No No!!!
Paul case suggests that we have an un-elected mayor at presnt, this is simply not the case:- the Mayor is an elected councillor who has the honour of representing our city as it's First Person.
An elected Mayor for Liverpool would be awful; over the last six or seven years the city has seen a great revival due to the council's setup... why see all that good work thrown away. An elected Mayor would take us back to the dark ages!
As for Liam Fogarty, i agree with jan - who is really behind all of this???
And let us not forget that about five years ago the question of whether we should elect a Mayor was asked... and got a resounding NO! If we have to vote on it again, I'll be voting the same as lasttime... NO NO NO!!!
Barbara
I agree with Jan - so much for transparency when there is so much secrecy around who's paying for the campaign.
Jan
Why wont Liam Fogarty say who is paying him to run this campaign? Who has made it worth his while to take time away from his fairly well paid job? He says he wants to make decision making more transparent - well lets make the debate more transparent and say who's bankrolling him?
Barry
Why stop at a Mayor why not a police cheif and elections every 3 years.Lets have wats right for the community not the party.
Paul Case Ormskirk
Although I'm not from Liverpool, I think having an elected mayor would pave the way to greater democracy in this country. After all we have an un-elected head of state like the 'Queen' and un-elected regional quango's like the present mayor of liverpool. I think it would be great choice.
Willy
No thanks to the idea of an elected mayor for Greater Liverpool. Local government has been already wrecked as a democracy by this particular givernment. Cabinet power the main example of this - so why impose one person to control an area?
anthony abbott
no to lord mayors wide open to corruption . we wnt more democracy not less wealready have too much centralisatoin both in london and brussels.that is whypoeple feel alienated from decision making
Bill
Before I decide it is important that someone explains what powers responsibilitys and authority any new mayor will have.
richardibison@blueyonder.co.uk
liverpool is like a family and every family needs a head of it and the family is best to say who should be it's head, not some person that has no family knolage of it.
J Dutch
Another waste of taxpayers money. Why not divert funds to a more worthwile project in the city?
Tom Williams
Anything would be better than the present system which continually brings about delays, petty squabbling and embarrasment to the city.
We should give it a try but lets make a decision and not put it off three times for more meetings and public consultation as we seem to do with every other decision!
pete
no we do not need an elected mayor
Gareth
Why not have a mayor for the whole of Merseyside (or Greater Liverpool). This is what London has, why can't we have it too?
kate
only if we can get rid of some of the other useless leeches that bleed the public purse dry, then we might have some cash left over for projects to improve the city.
john denson
we have lost millions of pounds while council through bickering and indecision cannot seem to see a project through.
mr k harvey
i'll vote yes for a mayor. i think it's a good idea.
Mike
Finally, someone had the courage to stand up and say it. Thankyou Liam. Agree with the idea or not surely you can't object to people being given a choice Councillor Bradley? Or are you seriously suggesting 32 votes is a better mandate than asking for the support of the people of the city?
Laurence anfield
I think its a great idea,at least we would know who to blame,when yet another proposed subject falls flat on its face, instead of tom passing the blame to dick,and he passing it on to harry.
John Staniford
So many fantastic projects I being rejected in Liverpool? If a Mayor could sort out this problem i'm all for one!
Dot
daft idea
Giles
Boris Johnson for Mayor!
Andy
I think it might give the city a much needed focus as we approach '08 - added to which, if we'd had a mayor already perhaps some of the 'missed opportunities' that the council have let pass us by, might have become a reality instead!
George Griffin
Another elected politician.
Another burecratic cost
Tony
Two small points that may help illuminate this complex (and potentially rewarding) issue.
Who was responsible for the failure for Alsop's 'Cloud', The Boot estate fiasco, giving English Heritage a suffocating virtual veto on planing in the city, The Millennium Centre etc.
Also;
Who decided that Warren Bradley was the right man to run the city?
Same for who gave Derek Hatton such sway in that terrible period?
Exaactly...accountablity and reward starts with knowing with whom exactly the buck stops!
How many failures in the coming months and years will Warren Bradley be able to truly say..."it was nothing to do with me"?
That's right, way too many.
Cathy
I vote yes and the vote must be clearer than the street traders lots of people wanted them to be moved and how long did that take peole voted against the space ship at the pierhead and that was the one THEY picked
Jean Snow
Yes I think a properly elected Mayor would be a brilliant idea. My choice would be Roger Phillips.
phil
If the council don't want it then I am right behind it.
joan
I agree Everywhere u go people seem to be worried about whats NOT happening in the city. Winning Capital of Culture isn’t enough. We need to have a vision for Liverpool as a world class city – an elected mayor would give us the chance to have a clear say in who we want to represent us .. and a say in whether we like what they are doing. Its called democracy.
Helen
Think this is a great idea - we complain about our city and this is actually giving us a chance to do something about it. Thank you, Liam, for having the guts to be the one who steps forward to ask the question. Now it's up to the rest of us to take the chance and have our say - for me its a straight-forward YES
