Almost 50% of people asked support directly-elected council leaders – poll

Almost half of people asked support elections to decide local authority leaders, a new poll suggests.

The survey, done for the Our Scottish Future think tank started by former prime minister Gordon Brown, spoke to 1,098 people – 45% of whom would like to elect their local leaders, with 11% saying they supported the idea “strongly”.

Currently, councillors select a leader after local authority elections in Scotland.

Mr Brown voiced his support for the proposals as the poll was released on Wednesday.

A further 21% opposed the idea, while 33% answered that they did not know about instituting a mayoral-style system such as the one seen in England.

Of those surveyed, 44% said they were “very likely” to vote in an election for a directly chosen local leader, while just 7% said they were “very unlikely” to vote.

The former prime minister said: “We need to act to revive our flagging local democracy. And as we turn our attention in 2022 to Scotland’s local elections in May, our poll shows that this may be time to look afresh at the way we are governed locally – and how direct elections for provosts could rekindle our streets and the communities where we live.”

He added: “Scotland led the way with devolution more than 20 years ago, when the Scottish Parliament was created by the last Labour government.

“But since then, our journey to devolve even further downwards has stopped. Indeed, the Scottish Government has put it into reverse, taking a highly centralising approach.

“Not only have local authorities been drained of the resources they need, but also stripped of powers.

“Local democracy is back in vogue everywhere round the world and Scotland should be in the vanguard, not lagging behind.

“Our poll today shows that Scots are ahead of their government on this.

“Devolution cannot stop in Edinburgh – it is time to give our great Scottish cities and regions the power and control they need too.”

In England, there are currently eight “metro mayors” who cover regions made up of local authorities with their main focus on coordinating work between the areas.