A second directly-elected mayor is facing the prospect of having his powers taken over by central government, following a warning from councillors. Just as the rows in Stoke-on-Trent have died down, disgruntled Doncaster MBC councillors have voted to distance themselves from the ‘outrageous' outbursts of their mayor, Peter Davies, who is an independent. They have also warned they will call in the CLG to take over. Since coming into office in June, Mr Davies has said councils should not spend money on ‘gays and lesbians', and told a national newspaper that the Taliban had an ordered society and ‘don't have hundreds of cases of children under threat of abuse from violent parents'. Despite winning praise for slashing his own pay from £73,000 to £30,000, the full council voted yesterday to support a motion to: ‘Disassociate itself from the sometimes-outrageous, inflammatory and insulting remarks of mayor Davies as the leader of the council'. The motion warned that without reassurances, the council would seek intervention from central government. The CLG has already said it will not intervene unless Mr Davies breeches his legally-held powers. Liberal Democrat leader, Paul Coddington, said: ‘We were annoyed and disgusted by Mr Davies's throwaway comments. ‘He is leader of Doncaster MBC, so this reflects badly on the borough. He keeps promising things and then backtracking on whether or not he can deliver them. He's had three months now – what has he actually delivered?' The mayor hit back: ‘The calling of the extraordinary council meeting is a gratuitous act by people who have failed for years to respond to the people of Doncaster and listen to what they want. I made a speech to my very first council meeting outlining my priorities for the year. I have made it clear to all councillors that they can come to see me – my door is always open.'
