Cornwall councillors bid to block new mayor plans

A group of councillors has launched a bid to block plans for a directly elected mayor in Cornwall saying it would give "one person excessive control".

In March, the council applied to the government for the county to get an elected mayor or leader in order to gain further devolution power.

A motion has been submitted by independent councillor Tim Dwelly to support devolution without a mayor.

It is due to be considered on Tuesday.

The motion was seconded by Lib Dem group leader Edwina Hannaford and also has the support of councillors John Fitter, Hilary Frank, Julian German, Thalia Marrington, Jim McKenna, Loic Rich, Tamsyn Widdon and Paul Wills.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said his motion stated: "By voting for this motion we can rapidly move on to focus on what matters most to the people of Cornwall: more powers and fairer funding for the benefit of everyone in Cornwall, rather than a single person being put in charge of our future."

Mr Dwelly's motion said: "Cornwall's motto is 'One and All'. It is not 'One over All'."

A report from officers in response to the motion said if Cornwall Council decided not to have a directly elected leader it would "limit the council's ambition" to just level two of the government's proposals.

The report also claimed the request was "premature" as there was "insufficient information" available regarding what would be included in a level three county deal.

It also claimed that if the council did not support a level three deal it would "limit the council's ability to address the housing crisis".

Cornwall Council is due to discuss the motion when it meets at County Hall in Truro from 10:30 BST on Tuesday.

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