Can it be True?

The Municipal Journal reported that there are moves afoot in Whitehall, to abolish the role of the directly elected mayor.

Readers will recall that Mayor Fiaz is a recent convert to the role. Having stood on a platform to abolish the post, after being in post for a few years she saw the wisdom in keeping the elected office. An office which saw her pocketing almost £100k per year.

The devolution white paper suggests that borough mayors should be abolished and replaced with a Leader and Cabinet model. They report, “One sector source said Whitehall officials were keen to extend the ban as council mayors were more common in local authorities that have faced problems and intervention.” Ummn? Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Croydon, Newham?

It is possible that we might see an addition to the Devolution White Paper, presently going through consultation.

We look forward to seeing how this story develops and just wonder whether the choice of the subject in the photo used by the MJ, denotes a hidden message as to the cause of this sudden policy reversal at Whitehall.