End our night-mayor system

10:43am Friday 23rd November 2007

Comments (0)   Have your say »

I DON'T normally side with councillors, but I actually feel a tad sorry for the mayor of High Wycombe in the row with the market traders of the town.

Mayor Val Razzaq is a victim of the ridiculous council system we have here. No one, apart from the politicians and officials understands it, and there's no reason why they should because it's ludicrously complex.

Val was publicly snubbed by the traders last week basically because they were furious at losing their contract to run the market. Yes, they were angry at the way she chaired a meeting to discuss their plight, but there's little doubt the mayor is seen as the figurehead for Wycombe District Council which made the decision to award the contract to an external company.

What most people fail to realise is the mayor is only a ceremonial post. The real official head of WDC is, in fact, the chairman of the council.

But even the chairman isn't in charge of decision-making; that's the role of the council leader and her cabinet.

However... most other major decisions aren't taken by the district council; it's the county council which sets the majority of the council tax levy and which runs schools and roads.

However... the district councils collect the tax on the county's behalf. They also collect the rubbish which the county disposes of.

However... there are also parish councils which make minor decisions. High Wycombe doesn't have a parish, but does have a group called the Charter Trustees which elects the mayor.

Confused? I bet you are. Why, I hear you cry, can't High Wycombe just have one directly-elected mayor responsible for executive decisions and who stands or falls by them?

Because that would be too democratic and easy-to-understand - and they wouldn't want that, would they?