MP says Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole need elected mayor

A Dorset MP says his area is missing out on vital investment because it does not have a directly elected mayor.

Tobias Ellwood, Conservative MP for Bournemouth East, says Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole needs to be led by a "big personality" with vision.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, led by the Three Towns Alliance, has refused to comment.

Local government minister Simon Hoare said ministers would not be dictating to people what is best for their area.

Mr Hoare said: "If the man from the ministry starts coming into town halls and county halls, lecturing what it should be, that's always a recipe for disaster."

Mr Ellwood told the BBC: "It's been a bumpy journey for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

"Things have settled but where's the big vision of where the area is going to go? Where's the big personality that could to drive this?"

Mr Ellwood denied his suggestion was motivated by the fact that BCP Council was led by a coalition which does not include Conservatives, saying it was instead due to the "absence of a vision and a strategy".

He said: "Many people are hard pushed to know who their local councillor is, let alone who the leader of the council is.

"I certainly believe we need a better cheerleader for the area. You could go to Westminster, demanding more funds."

Mr Hoare, who is also MP for North Dorset, said: "The whole levelling up agenda is not about what type of local government you have, it is about identifying need.

"Bids and suggestions for funding can be made by a county council or unitary council as much as it can be by a regional mayor so it's not so much about the individual, it's about what the application is talking about."

They're celebrities - leading the charge, taking the flak.

The first directly elected mayor was in London, Ken Livingstone, later followed of course by Boris Johnson.

As the cheerleader for a local area or a focus of criticism for things people want done better, they get listened to more perhaps than the usual Leader and cabinet format of local authorities.

There are 24 directly elected mayors in England - Labour's Andy Burnham in Manchester is one of the most prominent, covering an area where three million people live. In Birmingham a Conservative - former John Lewis boss Andy Street - does the job for a similar number of people.

Designed to connect better with the public, the idea of a mayor is remarkably unpopular. Only 17 of the referendums needed to bring in the post has there been a yes vote - 37 times people voted no - and three times where a mayor was established, people later voted to scrap the post.

Dorset has already seen big upheaval of local politics with the formation of two new mega councils. If it gets to a vote, will people see this as more costly meddling, or creating a simpler, smarter form of democracy for the future?

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