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Petition for an elected mayor

Citizens have the right to petition for a directly elected mayor.

If the council receives a valid petition signed by at least 5% of the local government electors in its area, it must hold a referendum. If the referendum results in a majority vote in favour of establishing an elected mayor, the council has to introduce such arrangements.

The petition

Anyone can organise a petition. The petition organiser is responsible for collecting the required number of signatures and submitting the petition to the council. Once the petition has been submitted the petition organiser will be the person we will correspond with.

To be valid, a submitted petition must:

The minimum number of supporters required (the 'verification number')

We publish the number of people that equals 5% of those registered to vote at a local government election in our area in February each year. This number is calculated from the Electoral Register.

Between publication of the number and 31 March that same year, one of 2 figures can be used:

  • the new number
  • the number published the previous year

Councils must use the lowest number as the verification figure for any petition submitted during this period.

Published number

In accordance with The Local Authority (Petitions) (England) Regulations 2011 (regulation 4) the number that is equal to 5% of the number of local government electors shown in the revised register of electors having effect on 15 February 2024 is:

9789

This figure will have effect for the purposes of determining the validity of Petitions presented from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

The number equal to 5% of the local government electors for 2025 will be published within 14 days of 15 February 2025. If this number is less than 9789, the number to be used for verification purposes in relation to any petition submitted for the period beginning on the date of publication of the lower number until 31 March 2025 shall also be that lower number.

Proper Officer
Plymouth City Council
Ballard House
West Hoe Road
Plymouth
PL1 3BJ

Date: 21 February 2024

If you have any questions about the petition for an elected mayor, please contact the Electoral Registration Office on 01752 304866 or email ero@plymouth.gov.uk.