Mayor says his role is 'very likely' to be scrapped

Sir Peter Soulsby has held the position of city mayor for as long as it has existed

Sir Peter Soulsby has said it is "very likely" councillors will vote to scrap the role of Leicester mayor before the next local elections in the city.

The Labour politician has been elected to the position four times since it was created in 2011 and said he planned to give councillors a vote on whether they wish to abolish the office before the next election in 2027.

He said his "expectation" was that councillors, including Labour members, would want Leicester City Council to revert back to a leader and cabinet model when the vote came.

Opposition Green and Tory councillors have proposed a motion calling for an end to the mayoral system, which will be debated by the council on Thursday.

The motion says there have been "continued and serious failings" by the council across core services, including in housing and adult social care, and says an end to the mayoral system "is essential to restore public trust, improve service delivery, and give communities a real say in how Leicester is run".

'Take the blame'

Soulsby told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the issues highlighted by the motion had "absolutely nothing" to do with the council's form of governance.

"All councils, from time to time, will find those who have the job of monitoring how the council is performing its various functions are critical, and there is nothing particularly unusual about those criticisms," he said.

"Of course, that doesn't mean to say that we shouldn't take them seriously, and I will be.

"I've always argued the strength of the mayoral system was that it's high-profile.

"People elect the leader directly rather than councillors doing it.

"I've often said of the job that one of the first things in the job description is to take the blame for anything that anybody wants to complain about in the city."

Leicester Conservatives leader Hemant Rae Bhatia said: "For 14 years the mayoral system has failed our city.

"The problems in Leicester won't be solved overnight, but they cannot be solved at all while the mayoral system continues. This motion is the first step to resetting how our city is run.

"Leicester deserves a council that listens, leads, and serves the people. It's time for a council that works for you, not for itself."

Opposition councillors have demanded a timeline for an end to the mayoral system to be agreed within the next three months.

Ministers will determine Leicester's future boundary and how the council is led

Soulsby said the mayoral office might be scrapped by the government in any case as part of an upcoming shake-up of council boundaries.

Ministers want the political restructure, known as local government reorganisation (LGR), to simplify how councils work by ending the two-tier council system and replacing district and borough authorities with larger unitary organisations.

As part of that, Soulsby is pushing for the city boundary to be expanded to cover surrounding towns in the neighbouring urban area, but the government has said such a new council would be run by a leader and cabinet.

"If there is any change to the city's boundary, the role of mayor would end," he said.

"If, however, it is not ending as a result of that, I have said that at least 12 months in advance of our next elections, the council should have an opportunity to decide whether it wishes to continue the role or not.

"I think it is very likely now that members of all parties will agree to revert to the conventional form of an indirectly elected leader of the council."

Leicestershire's seven districts and boroughs, along with Rutland County Council, have said the city should not be expanded.

They are to propose three unitary councils across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland when they submit their plans to ministers at the end of November.

Leicestershire County Council is proposing a third vision for local authorities in the future - a so-called "doughnut" with one council authority across the county.

It is built on established boundaries with the city, and excludes Rutland.