Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent

The Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent was an executive mayoralty that existed from 2002 to 2009,[1] when the executive of Stoke-on-Trent City Council was a directly elected mayor. The authority was unique in being the only authority in England with an elected mayor and council manager.[2] The first mayor was Mike Wolfe, a former manager of the Citizen's Advice Bureau in the city. He had stood as an independent, but was defeated by Mark Meredith representing the Labour Party in 2005.[3] A referendum was held on 24 October 2008. Residents voted in favour of a return to the council leader and cabinet system.[4] There was controversy when it was revealed three years later that plans to close a swimming pool in the city had been agreed privately by the former mayor.[5]

Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent
Appointer	Electorate of Stoke-on-Trent
Precursor	Council Leader
Formation	2002
First holder	Mike Wolfe
Final holder	Mark Meredith
Abolished	2009
Succession	Council Leader

Referendum

2002

Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent referendum
2 May 2002

Choice	Votes	%
Elected Mayor	28,601	58.2
Cabinet System	20,578	41.8
Required majority	50
Total votes	49,179	100.00
Source: House of Commons Library[6]

2008

Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent referendum
23 October 2008

Choice	Votes	%
Cabinet System	21,231	59
Elected Mayor	14,592	41
Required majority	50
Total votes	35,823	100.00
Source: This is Staffordshire[7]

2002

Stoke-on-Trent Mayoral Election 23 October 2002 [8]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Mayor 4 Stoke	Mike Wolfe	9,356	21.3%	3,337	12,693	50.6%	​​
	Labour	George Stevenson	9,752	22.2%	2,627	12,379	49.4%	​​
	BNP	Steven Batkin	8,213	18.7%				​​
	Conservative	Roger Ibbs	4,417	10.0%				​​
	Independent	Geoffery Snow	3,975	9.0%				​​
	Liberal Democrats	Fred Morrow	1,826	5.5%				​​
	Independent	Paul Breeze	1,349	3.1%				​​
	Independent	Patricia Whitehouse	1,280	2.9%				​​
	Independent	Graham Wilkes	1,157	2.6%				​​
	Adrian Knapper Independent Party	Adrian Knapper	708	1.6%				​​
	Independent	Harry Chesters	453	1.0%				​​
	Mayor 4 Stoke win

2005

Stoke-on-Trent Mayoral Election, 5 May 2005 [9]
Party		Candidate	1st round		2nd round			First round votes  Transfer votes
			Total	Of round	Transfers	Total	Of round
	Labour	Mark Meredith	27,253	32.9%	9,708	36,961	61.5%	​​
	Conservative	Roger Ibbs	16,211	19.5%	6,919	23,130	38.5%	​​
	Supports Green Shoots	Mike Wolfe	15,882	19.1%				​​
	BNP	Steven Batkin	15,776	19.0%				​​
	Independent	Gary Chevin	4,505	5.4%				​​
	Independent	Justine Harvey	1,955	2.4%				​​
	Independent	Gary Falconer	1,368	1.6%				​​
	Labour gain from Mayor 4 Stoke

List of mayors

• Mike Wolfe (2002 to 2005)
• Mark Meredith (2005 to 2009)

References

1. http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Breaking-News-Getting-rid-mayor-hit-city-s-regeneration-warns-Meredith/story-12504247-detail/story.html
2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/7463265.stm
3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/england/4522993.stm
4. http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/breaking-news-city-votes-scrap-elected-mayor/story-12552564-detail/story.html
5. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-15817323
6. "Local Elections in England: 2 May 2002" (PDF). House of Commons Library. 9 May 2002. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
7. "Referendum Result: City votes to scrap elected mayor". This is Staffordshire. 24 October 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
8. "Still In the Hunt! Stoke-on-Trent's Mayoral Elections". Freedom News Steve Batkin. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
9. "Local and Mayoral Elections 2005" (PDF). House of Commons library. Retrieved 23 December 2012.