Mayor 'would give Cornwall stronger voice', MP says

Steve Double is the Tory MP for St Austell and Newquay

A directly elected mayor would fit Cornwall's identity and give it a stronger voice, an MP has said.

St Austell and Newquay MP Steve Double has suggested the county could introduce the role as it prepares to mark 10 years as a unitary authority.

The elected leader would have a "very clear democratic mandate", according to Mr Double.

Cornwall Council said previous reviews had found "little appetite for a directly elected mayor".

The leader of the council is currently chosen by councillors, and has the job of picking a cabinet.

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Mr Double said that if the leading councillor was directly elected it would make them more accountable with a bigger democratic mandate.

"I don't think we should discount having a mayor," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"Having a mayor of Cornwall would suit the Cornish identity and give us a stronger voice."

'Clear democratic mandate'

Previously, there have been calls for Cornwall to have its own National Assembly, led by party Mebyon Kernow.

Mr Double said it would also help people understand how the council works and what the leading councillor stands for.

"The leader has a huge amount of power but nobody votes for the leader. People across Cornwall have no idea who the leader is or what they stand for," he said.

"That is one of the key benefits of having an elected mayor - someone with a very clear democratic mandate."

The council said it had commissioned two independent reviews to consider the various governance models for councils since 2009.

In the most recent review, held in 2016, it stated that there was not "enough compelling evidence or argument in favour of an elected mayor for Cornwall".