Vote to be held on scrapping Leicester's elected mayor role

Sir Peter Soulsby has been Leicester's elected mayor since 2011

Councillors are to vote on whether to scrap the role of elected mayor in Leicester.

A special meeting has been called on Thursday to debate whether to change the way Leicester City Council is led.

Conservative councillors want to revert to a committee-style system, ending the mayoral post held by Labour's Sir Peter Soulsby since 2011.

Half of the 54 councillors would need to vote for the change, with Labour holding 47 of the seats.

Whip withdrawn

Leicester's Conservative Party had called for a vote on the office to take place at February's full council meeting, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said, but their motion calling for the debate was submitted too late to be tabled.

Labour councillor Jacky Nangreave has now called for another debate, with the backing of independent councillors and Conservative members, and has since had the whip withdrawn from the Labour group.

A Labour spokesperson said: "The bringing forward of the special meeting, in collaboration with councillors from other parties, is a breach of rules so has had the whip suspended."

Mrs Nangreave told the BBC her motion was not a political one but intended to address structural problems about how the council was run.

She said: "Labour has made this political by suspending the whip.

"There are many who feel the mayoral system is not working for the city."

Sir Peter Soulsby, who has led the council as mayor since 2011, said his opponents were desperate

A Leicester Conservatives spokesperson said: "Removing the position of city mayor will ensure politicians are held to account at every level of office.

"The position isn't accountable and gives too much power to one individual in this city."

Sir Peter previously told the LDRS "They [the Conservatives] have been trying desperately to get together the signatures they need for a referendum and they have just completely failed to win public support.

"They have been trying for months and months and months so in desperation at the very last minute they are bringing this.

"The people of Leicester have voted at three successive mayoral elections and given the Labour candidate an increased majority on each occasion."