Croydon residents will have to decide if they want a directly elected mayor, after councillors voted for holding a public referendum in October.
On Monday members voted at a Croydon Council meeting for a referendum, set for the 7th October.
Residents will have to decide if they want to have a new directly elected borough leader or continue with the current system.
Since 2001 Croydon has been run by a leader and cabinet model, after the Local Government Act 2000 required most councils to change from a committee system.
Councillor Hamida Ali, leader of the council said: “Monday’s vote means Croydon residents will get to choose how their council is run later this year.
“An October referendum means we have more time to make it as safe as possible given the continuing pandemic so as many local people as possible can have their say on this important issue.
“If you are a Croydon resident and are eligible to vote, make sure you are registered so you can take part in the referendum later this year.”
If the referendum results in favour of directly elected mayor, the poll to choose that mayor would be on 5 May 2022 as well as the next scheduled local elections for all Croydon Council seats.
The date set up for the October referendum is provisional and it is subject to COVID-19 restrictions.
If the Greater London Authority and London Mayor elections planned for May 2021 are moved to within 28 days of the referendum, Croydon then would combine both referendum and poll together.
The council will set up a full report before the council meeting that sets out the referendum proposals in detail, these include any changes to the council’s constitution.
The council is effectively bankrupt, as its ongoing budget crisis continues.
Featured image credit: Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0 License: Robin Webster, Geograph
