Dear Editor, Sir Albert Bore, leader of the Labour group of Birmingham City Council and an elected mayor contender, spoke recently at a meeting of Birmingham Business Focus on the subject of “Does Birmingham need an elected mayor?”.
Initially, many doubts were expressed by those present: would it lead to more political argument, more bureaucracy, more cost? But after one of the most powerful debates in our history a substantial majority voted in favour of an elected mayor for Birmingham. High on the list of points in favour were the opportunity to elect someone with a clear vision for the future for Birmingham and an unfettered mandate to carry it out, an elected mayor for Birmingham would be the only elected mayor in the Greater Birmingham area and could give the region enhanced profile, and the finance on offer from central government was potentially too attractive to ignore.
Whilst the devil may be in the detail of what powers and funding an elected mayor may have, we believe this is an opportunity not to be missed.
Neil Maybury
Birmingham Business Focus
