Torbay, despite its size, is a unitary authority with an elected mayor. London has an elected mayor, but it is a little bigger than Torbay. Now here's the thing, despite what you may have been told size does matter, but there we go.
For the past four years we have been under the bailiwick of Mayor Nick Bye and that has, to say the least, been an interesting experience for us all. But you see in my opinion the elected mayor should not be a party animal (political party that is!) otherwise the zealots tend to let rip and sadly they have been very much at play in Torbay. Nick Bye started out as an independent but in truth was always part of the Conservative group and that faction at this time is very much in the proverbial driving seat.
During Nick Bye's tenancy we have been offered a curious landscape that has developed from an almost biblical document known as the Mayor's Vision. I say biblical because the promotional DVD came complete with the little red footprints of an ancient prophet and of course, needless to say, at the time I did produce an alternative script using quotations from the Old Book. This DVD featured images of the Torbay is today followed by a flash of white and then up popped the vision which had high rise apartments, bistro seating and other stuff in a foretelling or perhaps foreseeing role. I have to say that some or the Vision was very good, but some had me reaching for an out of town bus timetable.
On Monday (11th April) I am attending the first Mayoral Debate at the Riviera Conference in Torquay in the hope of hearing something meaningful from the mayoral candidates. My worry is that if that if the local population show the same apathetic response to this election as they did last time and we don't get a mayor with the charisma to disrupt and captivate then the future will be bleak; very bleak indeed. I did talk to Nick Bye recently about the need to captivate people and change the way they see themselves at citizens of a united Torbay. Unless that happens then all the topographical changes will simply be lost in that sea of apathy. I've always thought that Nick has been a little unlucky since he has been the one being belted with rotten fruit whilst others making decisions behind the scenes have kept their heads down. He is standing again which does take courage.
Oh well, let's see how Monday evening shapes up!!
The mayors in France and most European countries get substantial local taxes and budgets, and therefore have power and cred.
ReplyDeleteIn Britain the post doesn't have any of those things. I'd guess that most locals in any town or city couldn't actually name their mayor unless he'd been involved in some scandal!
;-)