Plan B Forum

Voters are set to reject David Cameron's flagship plans for elected mayors despite the Prime Minister's pleas for a 'Boris' in every part of the country.



Ministers are privately bracing themselves for many cities to reject plans to create powerful new local mayors in referenda held today. Recent polls have shown that two thirds of voters would prefer to stick with the current system where councillors from political parties run local affairs. Mr Cameron has personally thrown his weight behind the plans for directly elected mayors - holding similar powers to Boris Johnson in London - in the 12 largest cities outside of London. Ten of them - Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Coventry, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Wakefield -will vote today.
Both Birmingham and Manchester are on a knife-edge with polls showing that opposition to the plans has grown in recent weeks.

Anecdotal evidence from city councillors and party activists out campaigning for the local elections have reported growing hostility to the idea of a mayor. Many people are unaware that the poll is even taking place, while others are reported to be suspicious of an idea thrust on them by political leaders from Westminster. A recent Guardian/ICM poll of West Midlands voters found that 64 per cent intended to vote 'no' to elected mayors.


A Manchester Evening News poll of nearly 1,000 people found that nearly 50 per cent said they wanted to stick with the current system compared with 43 per cent who want an elected mayor. The survey also found more than one fifth of voters 'didn't even realise the vote was taking place,' while more than 30 per cent said they were 'very well informed' on the vote. But a YouGov poll held at the beginning of last month found that 56 per cent of people would prefer to have directly elected mayors.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1tl7aNaNe

Boris Johnson has won a second term as London mayor, beating Labour rival Ken Livingstone by 3%, after a far closer contest than expected.



Mr Johnson won on second preference votes after failing to gain more than 50% in the first round.

He bucked the national trend after heavy Tory losses elsewhere.

Lib Dem Brian Paddick saw his vote collapse and he was beaten into fourth place by Green Jenny Jones, with independent Siobhan Benita fifth.

Mr Johnson's victory comes after a dismal night at the polls for Conservatives across England, Scotland and Wales, as Labour seized control of 32 councils.

Labour also saw a significant boost in its vote across London in the Assembly elections - but many of the party's voters appear to have shunned Ken Livingstone when it came to choosing a mayor.

In other developments:

Labour gained 823 councillors nationally, as the Tories lost 405 and the Lib Dems 336
Labour had a projected 38% national share of the vote, up three points, the Tories down four on 31% and the Lib Dems unchanged on 16%
The Lib Dems were the big losers in Scotland, where Labour and the Scottish National Party made big gains
Voters in Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Wakefield, Manchester, Nottingham, Bradford, Leeds and Coventry reject the mayoral system - but Bristol votes in favour and Doncaster votes to keep theirs
Labour have made substantial gains in Wales, including taking Cardiff

Mr Johnson gained 44% of first preference votes, to Ken Livingstone's 40.3%. After second preferences came into play, Mr Johnson gained a total of 1,054,811 votes, or 51.5%, to the Labour candidate's 48.5% - making it an even closer contest than in 2008.

A member of comedy rap group Goldie Lookin' Chain (GLC) has become a councillor in his home city.

Rhys Hutchings, a full-time member of the band, stood as Labour candidate in Newport's St Julians ward.

Labour has won a majority in the city, but he gained one of three seats in the St Julians ward with 981 votes after a recount on Friday.

The 36-year-old has said he hopes his profile will benefit politics in the city.

He formed GLC in 2000, and their hits have included Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do, which reached number three in the UK charts.

The group are known for their tongue-in-cheek take on life in south Wales in general, and Newport in particular.

The rapper, who grew up in Newport suburb of Allt-yr-Yn, has said he hopes to use his place in the band to benefit the city.

He told BBC Wales that he became interested in becoming a councillor when he helped former Newport mayor Bill Langsford at fundraising events in 2010.

He said: "It just opened my eyes to the fact that we can make a difference, people can run for council, get in and make a difference.

"If you want to make a difference for the town that you love and care about, get involved.

"I realised that it was something that was an option. I went for it and here we are.

"The other boys in the band are coming round to the idea of politics - I'm going to try and get them all involved - but we'll see how that turns out."

Two others were also elected - fellow Labour candidate Emma Garland with 1,020 votes and Liberal Democrat candidate Ed Townsend got in with 958 votes, just one vote more than the third Labour candidate Joshua Worrad

Labour has won 28 seats in Newport on Friday, securing a majority and improving on their 2008 total of 22 seats.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) has apologised to David Beckham after Newport rappers Goldie Lookin' Chain insulted his wife.

The group was hired to entertain at the World Cup Qualifier against England at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

While the England squad warmed up, GLC dedicated their song, "Your Missus Is A Nutter" to Victoria Beckham.

The FAW were embarrassed at the lack of respect and promised such a stunt would not happen again.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-17950315

A driver is stuck in a traffic jam on the motorway outside London, nothing is moving.

Suddenly, a man knocks on the car window.

The driver rolls down the window and asks, "What's going on?"

"Terrorists have kidnapped the members of parliament and they're asking for a £100 million ransom otherwise, they are going to douse them all in petrol and set them on fire. We are going from car to car collecting donations."

"How much is everyone giving on average?" the driver asks.

"Roughly a gallon."