Saturdays 11:00-11:30
(when Parliament is in recess)
A look at politics outside the bubble.
Programme details
30 August 2008
Sheena McDonald asks why there is such resistance to introducing directly-elected mayors in the UK.
Over 8 years ago, New Labour passed revolutionary legislation that enabled every local authority in England and Wales to have an elected mayor. Today, only 12 out of our 410 LAs have introduced the system.
Why is there such resistance to introducing a form of governance that Lord Heseltine, for one, thinks is key to a ‘city renaissance’ in Britain?
Sheena McDonald meets the former Deputy Prime Minister to hear his views and reporter Oliver Hawkins travels to the troubled city of Doncaster to find out why there's bitter debate about its mayor.
And Sheena hosts a panel to discuss the issue - including Sir Jeremy Beecham, a former Newcastle City Council leader who says why he thinks elected mayors don't guarantee the improvements to clarity and accountability claimed by those who champion them, Liam Fogarty, the man running the campaign to give Liverpool an elected mayor, and Judi Billing, a senior political adviser who just wants our local authorities to be well run, whatever the way.
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