2021 Manifesto FINAL DRAFT - Flipbook - Page 15
Democracy
I WILL:
• Lobby central government to allow the WMCA to have a
directly elected Assembly on the same day as the next local
elections in 2022. This will be a part-time Assembly to begin
with, and its remit and resources will increase as the scale of
work increases.
• In the meantime, I will campaign for the scrutiny committee to
be given additional resources to expand its membership to
include representatives of voluntary organisations, community
groups, unions, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and
under-represented or vulnerable groups; to set up sub-groups
focused on different areas; to have an independent website; to
elect an opposition Chair; and to change how scrutiny
representatives are appointed, to make them less vulnerable to
political pressure.
• Use Citizens’ Assemblies to ensure the direct participation
of members of the public in forming policy, investigating
issues of real concern to the WMCA and co-producing WMCA
plans.
• Work towards setting up to 20% of the mayoral budget through
participatory budget setting.
• Lobby for a more diverse and representative WMCA board
and sub-groups with more representatives from groups other
than larger businesses.