Welsh Conservatives have welcomed the launch of a campaign petitioning for a referendum to be held for an elected Mayor of Cardiff.

Coinciding with the campaign’s launch today, it has also been announced that a Welsh Conservative Government would lower the threshold of petition signatures required to trigger referenda on the issue across the country.

The Party has long highlighted the role a visible, directly-accountable champion could have for many areas in Wales.

Shadow Local Government Minister, Janet Finch-Saunders AM:

“Directly-elected Mayors can reinvigorate local politics; enhance accountability and provide a loud, proud, local voice for our communities.

“Cardiff could benefit immensely from a recognisable, well-known local figurehead, who carries a clear mandate to speak for the entire community – so Welsh Conservatives back this campaign wholeheartedly.”

No fewer than 24,647 petition signatures in Cardiff will be required for a referendum to be triggered; with the campaign group having six months to secure the consent, and support, of one in ten electors.

In England, by contrast, only one in twenty electors must sign such a petition for a referendum to take place – and Welsh Conservatives would enhance local decision-making by bringing the threshold in Wales in line with that across the border.

Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies, added:

“An elected Mayor could act as a game changer for Cardiff – but local campaigners are faced with a tremendous hurdle to ensure this vote can even happen.

“Under Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, the threshold of signatures needed to give local people a voice on whether they want a directly-elected mayor is double that of in England. That is grossly unfair on people across Wales.

“This in another example of a tired, complacent Labour Government accumulating power at the centre and seeking to deny local people a direct say about matters in their own community – and Welsh Conservatives would change that.”