“Below is the text of an email sent on the 4th December to Mr Tim Howes at Plymouth City Council. No further comment from me is required!

Dear Mr Howes,

I read with interest the comments on The Herald website in connection with the consultation process relating to a possible change in the executive arrangements for the City [http://i.e. Mayor or Leader|http://i.e. Mayor or Leader]. I have to tell you that my wife and I voted last night but your system of registration would have allowed me to vote twice [should I have been dishonest enough to do so!] This came about when my computer froze towards the end of the registration process and had to be restarted. We subsequently received three emails with three different activation links. I have copied these emails below and note I will be posting a copy of the text of this email on The Herald website.

I must say that I am not very impressed by the Consult software!”

“I'm amazed that the Labour Party is keeping quiet on this matter. Don't they care?”

“So just so we are all clear you do understand the outcome of this "vote" has no real effect whatsoever?

They have to ask you what you would like but that doesnt dictate the outcome. They will do whatever they want. If you say you want an elected mayor then all they will have to do if they go against that is justify why they did so. They are not bound over to go with the public view.

Bear in mind that Viv Pengelly is onto an easy thing here. You see her as some tyranical matriach ruling the roost but in reality she is just some doddering old pensioner who rattles around the council house moaning about room layouts and pestering officers about minor trival concerns. She is as much of a leader of this city as my grandmother is the prime minister. Its all about money, elected mayor is more expensive so thats not going to happen. Simple as. don't get all het up worrying your little minds with whatever conspisorcy theroies your dreamed up to explain this event.”

“The present style of running our city is out-dated.... with an out-dated Leader. Plymouth needs to up-date, bring in fresh ideas and ways of working. An Elected Mayor would cover this. We need someone who is younger and more energetic with a business brain. He/She would work with ALL political Partys, using the best people and ideas, which our current Leader of the Council does not.

Plymouth could rise like a Phonix from the Ashes of this recession, and our City could be well and truly put on the map. We need industry wanting to set up here, shops to occupy the now empty spaces, and a feeling of well being for all our citizens...... Our current, ex school teacher, Leader, does has not achieved this and will never do so..... We all need to retire at some stage, and perhaps this is the right time for her.

So come on Plymouth citizens vote for something new, forward thinking, and help get us out of this rut.”

“The voters of Plymouth should be aware of the one simple fact regarding this ongoing fiasco and it is this; A mayor can be voted out after four years, the Leader and Cabinet stay in power as long as their party has a majority.
I cannot believe that even in my days of deepest depression that the people of Plymouth would wish an interminable life governed by this current leader and her cabinet of mindless sheep who act on her every whim!.”

“This convenient farce has done much to expose the competence of this authority and demonstrates quite clearly that they couldn't organise a ***s up in a brewery, especially if it wasn't in their best interests. I have little regard for politicians who have shown us all that they are mostly in it for their own personal gain. The bare faced shamelessness makes me very angry. Don¿t forget ¿ they are drawing a wage and claiming expenses, your money, while delivering piffle.
This issue is far too important for the incumbent self serving leaders to decide on. The debate should be managed and the final decision should be made by an independent body so that we could be sure that no conflicts of interest are allowed to colour the outcome.”

“It is plain as day , this Tory council does not want this vote to take place .
Pengelly and her sheep are now sitting cosy , taking loads of money for making cockups happen ,
Time they were gone and a mayor was elected”

“Duely registered and voted”

“Good point DD! Have the Council yet clarified if a vote before the Registration Process will or will not be recognised. In the interests of local democracy the Council must come clean on this ASAP

Once the whole sorry process is over I hope and trust the Herald can write a comprehensive article on it warts and all,
This should be sent to Eric Pickles the govt Minister responsible who is probably the only person who can call the Council to account over this affair”

“For clarity, my concern here is that a succession of 'gremlins' and 'hiccups' have ensured that those taking part in this 'consultation' can currently have little confidence that their voice will be heard. It is clear that once it became apparent that there actually was a consultation taking place that the process for registering an opinion has been seriously flawed. Changing the way that the city is run is a major issue and the people of Plymouth deserve to be heard. It might be that they feel this is now the time to elect someone who is not a politician. Confidence in politicians generally is not high and we live in extremely challenging economic times. Perhaps Plymouth plc should have a directly elected leader from a different background who could, potentially, bring together the best talent, as DD suggests, without any political ties and whose sole aim was to drive a Plymouth agenda to achieve what is best for the city.

Whether or not I personally favour an elected mayor I believe that the consultation process should be fair and reasonable. The people of Plymouth should be provided with the necessary facts in an unbiased fashion enabling them to make a judgement. They should then be able to register their decision in a safe and secure fashion. Is that really asking too much?

The gremlins and hiccups have resulted in a process that has not sufficiently engaged with the people who should be making this decision. It is their choice to make. I applaud the fact that the consultation period has been extended but I am not sure that the "man on the Clapham omnibus" or indeed perhaps "the man on Mutley Plain" would consider the time remaining, given the 'gremlins' that still apparently survive, adequate or reasonable.”