Much of the opposition to the creation of an elected mayor should be taken with a pinch of party political salt.
It should be remembered the Conservatives opposed the introduction of an elected mayor and assembly for London, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly, all of which decentralised power and brought decision-making closer to the people.
When they failed, they then fought and lost the elections that followed, something that clearly influences them now.
They know their only hope of winning power is by hanging on to safe seats in local elections with increasingly low turnouts.
They would have us stick with a committee system that almost every other council has moved on from in favour of something more suited to modern and effective decision-making, solely to preserve their own influence.
In joining with conservative elements from other parties under the so-called Alliance For Democracy, they would have us believe directly-elected mayors, which are common throughout democratic states the world over, are somehow undemocratic.
How can a mayor directly elected by up to 200,000 local residents be less democratic than a leader chosen by a handful of councillors?
-Warren Morgan, Freshfield Street, Brighton
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