The Guardian piece against elected executive mayors: BHANGEELAAR! the first comment

The Guardian piece against elected executive mayors: BHANGEELAAR! the first comment

What the great mayoral delusion really highlights is the modern establishment's talent for messing with things for the sake of it, with no sense of history, experience, or even clarity about what exactly they want. All that, and dangers that have barely even been talked about.

Quoting the Guardian piece, the last paragraph

Your [the Guardian writer ] summary [quoted] is an accurate representation of the crisis ad threat against local democracy that a executive mayor system poses if the evidence in the “inner city” [“one of the poorest” boroughs...] Tower Hamlets is any guide.

You may recall, on the published facts, that an abysmally unaudited

claim was made in May 2010 by the then holder of the post of “chief executive” in the local Tower Hamlets Council to the effect that a “referendum ” had been duly held and that the electors had voted “YES” to having an elected executive mayor in Tower Hamlets.

Serious concerns were raised by campaigners against the dangerously undemocratic, authoritarian and wasteful “executive mayor system” with the then Council Chief Executive post holder who also doubled as “the Returning officer” for the Borough. He failed to legally, constitutionally or transparently address those concerns. As did the Electoral Commission. Tower Hamlets, thus, was sent into a state where those who disrespected the values of democratic representation could indulge the whims and the abuses that authoritarian republics are notorious for. Your summary therefore needs evidential examination in light of what has been occurring o in this Borough since May 2010.

ALL the electorally active “Political” parties and groupings in Tower Hamlets staged a de facto synchronised U-turn. It was exhibited as a unanimity on having an “elected, executive mayor” . This was in stark contrast with the stance “against” an elected executive mayor system that had been “shown” during January 2006 and April 2010 by the “lead” post holders on behalf of the Labour, the Conservative and by the Lib Dems as councillors on Tower Hamlets Council.

Why had these “main” Parties and groupings behaved in that contradictory way?

This is ode question that contains the main components of the moral and the ethical problems that afflict all the three parties. and their acolyte sub-parties that too pander to the most undemocratic urges in the opportunist, morality-free “"political" post holder, local, regional and “national”.

The imposition of the antidemocratic mayor system is in effect the imposition of the worst form of “governance” and those behind this deeply regressive imposition should be stopped now from destroying what remains of local democratic accountability.

The Guardian can play a very positive prodemocratic part in this time of widespread antidemocratic initiatives being imposed and spread across the country.

There is a serious void as seen in the opportunistic, ethics-free, morality-free behaviour of the majority of MPs as witnessed during the recently memorable period of the “expenses scandal” .

The collective “power” of the Trade unions has not been brought to be exercised in defence of local democracy. Local people, ordinary people are ow being scrapped as far as the deterrence against authoritarian drift of Society goes. Elected executive mayor system typifies that chilling antidemocratic iceberg.

Boris Johnson’s persistent refusal to withdraw a remark against his rival is a mere but typical sample of the toxic antisocial arrogance that the incumbent is allowed to feel. A comparable instance can be found in Ken Livingstone's last months in office in the London Onion before the May 2008 poll, especially over Livingstone’s defiance of the particular London Assembly members at the time who had the “temerity” to EVEN express concerns about the financial affairs over the LDA, one of the funding outfits that had been placed at the disposal of the incumbent in the London Onion. Such incumbents cannot be expected to recognise ordinary people who do not have the resources that the Labour Party's candidate in context has.

Time to urgently return English local areas to a form of democracy that had been fought for by so many valiant, selfless people who made the difference and who founded the Society that is now being subliminally crumbled.

[Ends the substantive texts of the BHANGEELAAR! piece posted on the Guardian web site i the past 3 hours ]

[ The evidential, contextual diagnosis of the antidemocratic imposition of the over-contrived ad over-disguised “elected executive mayor” system on English local communities is o be continued by the campaigns and the campaigners.]