Brighton and Hove has been urged by a Government minister to elect a powerful mayor to boost democracy.

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears told The Argus that having a highly visible, directly elected leader who could "make things happen" would help improve accountability as well as the quality of local government.

The city rejected an attempt to introduce a mayoral system in a public ballot seven years ago - one of 23 areas which have voted against the move in referenda but Ms Blears believes national public opinion has now shifted in favour of elected mayors.

Speaking at a Newspaper Conference lunch in Westminster, she said: "The longer I'm in this job, the more important I think it is that there's visible, accountable leadership at every level. The public is increasingly keen to see who's responsible and who they can hold to account when things are not going the way they want them to. I personally think elected mayors are a good thing."

Ms Blears said two mayors of London boroughs had transformed their local councils from "basket cases" to high performing authorities - and told The Argus such a system could also benefit Brighton and Hove.

She said: "I personally would like to see more elected mayors, particularly in big cities where people are looking for a leader. People who can make deals with the private sector, people who can make things happen. If you have one person there is a very clear way of doing it."

Ms Blears cautioned there was a need to ensure any powerful executive mayor was kept in check by other elected representatives.

She said: "We don't simply want someone who's a despot going in an untrammelled direction. But if you have proper checks and balances in the system, having one leader is a good thing."

The option of directly elected mayors for local authorities in England and Wales was introduced under Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2000. Councils that want to move to a mayoral system are required to obtain the public's approval through a referendum.

To date there have been 35 referendums, of which 12 passed and 23 were rejected by voters. In Brighton and Hove in 2001 a proposal to move to a directly elected mayoral system was defeated by 62 per cent to 38 per cent of the vote, on a 32 per cent turnout.

The 12 current elected mayors in England are in Bedford, Doncaster, Hackney, Hartlepool, Lewisham, Mansfield, Middlesbrough, Newham, North Tyneside, Stoke-on-Trent, Torbay and Watford.

To trigger a referendum, a council can request one or voters themselves can request it by a petition of at least five per cent of electors.

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