1 An elected Mayor in Birmingham would mean that far too much power was given to one person. Other countries may be happy with this sort of thing but it is not the way we do things in this country - and for good reason.
2 The role of councillors would be diminished. The City Council, shrunk in importance immediately, would almost certainly be shrunk in size within a few years. We could end up with as few as 40 councillors struggling to represent over a million citizens.
3 Joseph Chamberlain's success was as a city councillor working with the committee system. He succeeded because the Council had powers which successive governments have since taken away - along with many of our assets - to make our country one of the most centralised democracies in the world. There is no need for an elected Mayor to set things right - they can do this any time they want.
4 Birmingham is different to the capital where the London Boroughs do the hard work delivering basic services to residents while the Mayor grandstands and plays personality knockabout with rivals.
5 Elected Mayors can do what they like for four years and even if they prove to be incompetent they cannot be got rid of since there is no 'recall' mechanism. And we couldn't get rid of the system either without an Act of Parliament. Precious little chance of the government finding time for that.
6 An elected Mayor would be easily lobbied and leant on by vested interests - as experience in other countries shows.
7 The 'Yes' campaign, driven by central government and favoured by business executives, is elitist and top-down. There is an opportunity on Thursday May 3rd to let them know what you think of this.
8 The Mayor, as an individual, would be more easily pressurised by central government - 'Yes' men one and all - to implement policies that are not in the best interests of Birmingham citizens.
9 Elected Mayors don't produce better Local Government. Under Chamberlain Birmingham was described as "the best governed city in the world". And it still could be. Let's have our stolen powers back along with the democratic framework that worked so well.
10 The time-honoured position of Lord Mayor of Birmingham would be greatly diminished along with the civic function. What a disaster this would be for service to local communities, charities and Birmingham's civic inheritance.
11 An elected Mayor could be a compulsive globetrotter - at the taxpayer's expense. Look no further than London.
12 An elected Mayor could employ many deputies at large salaries without the public having a say. The Mayor could take it easy. Revealingly, one of the would-be candidates in Birmingham says that they could do a full time job as well as being Mayor.
13 The Leader of the Council is currently paid £66,000. An elected Mayor would want more than this - far more - at the taxpayer's expense.
14 The May 3rd referendum is costing £250,000 which the Government bills to Birmingham. Voting for the yes campaign would only add to the expense.
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