Mark Meredith

Mark Joseph Meredith, born 21 August 1965, Pyenest Street, Shelton, in Stoke-on-Trent, was elected to the position of Executive Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent Unitary Authority on 5 May 2005. He stood for election as the Labour Party candidate and defeated incumbant Mayor 'Independent' Mike Wolfe who had held the position since October 2002 when the Office came into being.

Related Topics:
21 August - 1965 - Stoke-on-Trent - 5 May - 2005 - Labour Party - October 2002

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Stoke-on-Trent is the only local authority in the United Kingdom with a management structure which comprises of a Council Executive made up of an Elected Mayor and a Council Manager (Chief Executive) only. This structure was confirmed in a City-wide referendum in May 2002, when the proposal was accepted by 58% of the votes cast. The sixty councillors which make up the Council itself, now comprise a scrutiny body which examines the work of the Council Executive, offers comments and amendments and controls the budget.

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Whilst the Elected Mayor directs the general political strategy of the local authority, the Council Manager supervises the entire paid service, some 12,000 employees in all.

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The Council is elected in part every year (one third of the seats are elected, with a Mayoral election in the fourth year). There are twenty wards each electing three members of the Council. At present the political composition of the Council is as follows: 34 Labour (plus the Elected Mayor who also has a vote), 12 Stoke-on-Trent Independent Group, 5 Conservative, 5 Liberal Democrat, 2 British National Party and 2 non-aligned. This means that the Labour Party control the scrutiny body as well as the Council Executive. (See also Stoke-on-Trent City Council website for election results, and the scope of City Council services - www.stoke.gov.uk)

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A member of the Labour Party since 1982, Mark Meredith has held many posts at various levels of the Labour Party but has has never sought or held a public office before. A local businessman in the Stoke-on-Trent town of Hanley, since 1992 he was selected as the Labour candidate in December 2004, defeating four others to win the Labour nomination. In the Mayoral election of 5 May 2005, Mark Meredith polled ahead of the Conservative candidate Roger Ibbs (in second place) Mike Wolfe Independent, a BNP candidate and 3 other non-aligned independents.

Related Topics:
5 May - 2005

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The City Council still retains the ceremonial positions of a Lord Mayor and a Deputy Lord Mayor who are appointed by the full Council on an annual basis usually in the month of May. The Lord Mayor chairs the plenary meetings of the City Council.

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As the Elected Mayor Mark Meredith is now the principal spokesperson for the Stoke-on-Trent City Council on all matters related to the Stoke-on-Trent City Council, but not the Labour Group of Councillors who still retain a Leader to speak on their behalf.

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No group in this system has a majority until they achieve two thirds of the councillors. In Stoke-on-Trent a single group would need 40 seats before they would effectively be in control of making decisions on policies.

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