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Council says mayor must belong to us all
29/09/25
The government should not disadvantage Suffolk by using a voting system in the election of a powerful new regional mayor which may not provide a strong democratic mandate, Mid Suffolk District Council has said.
The first Suffolk and Norfolk mayor is set to be elected in May 2026 and will lead a new Mayoral County Combined Authority with devolved powers from government – including strategic oversight of transport, economic development, housing and infrastructure.
The government has announced its intentions for regional mayors to be elected using the Supplementary Voting system, which is designed to ensure broad support for the successful candidate.
It allows voters to express both a first and second choice preference. If no candidate achieves over 50% of first-preference votes, all but the top two candidates are eliminated, and second-preference votes are redistributed to determine the winner.
However, Suffolk and Norfolk are on the Devolution Priority Programme, so the mayoral election will happen before many other areas – and it is unlikely Supplementary Voting will be in place before then.
That means the First Past the Post system – used in local and general elections – would be used.
At Mid Suffolk’s full council meeting on 25 September, councillors heard that under First Past the Post, the West of England mayor was elected in May last year with 25% of the vote (7.5% of the electorate on a 30% turnout).
Cllr John Matthissen said:
“The risk is that the mayor will be elected by 10% or less of the people across the two counties. If five parties all contest strongly, as is likely in Suffolk and Norfolk, the First Past the Post winner may well gain under 30% of the vote. Turnout for local elections is often less than half those registered to vote, although we will redouble our efforts to encourage more. That adds up to a mayor that few people feel belongs to them.”
“The risk is that the mayor will be elected by 10% or less of the people across the two counties. If five parties all contest strongly, as is likely in Suffolk and Norfolk, the First Past the Post winner may well gain under 30% of the vote. Turnout for local elections is often less than half those registered to vote, although we will redouble our efforts to encourage more. That adds up to a mayor that few people feel belongs to them.”
His motion proposing the council writes to government urging it to either speed up legislation to ensure Supplementary Voting is available for the mayoral election next May - or delay the election until it was – was supported.
Cllr Andy Mellen, Mid Suffolk District Council leader, who seconded the motion, said:
“We need a mayor with a strong mandate to go to government and press for what our two counties need. The Supplementary Voting system provides a much better way to elect a mayor with broad support – and the government agrees – that’s why they are re-introducing it for mayors elected in 2027.
“If we continue with the current First Past the Post system, Suffolk and Norfolk could end up with a mayor with very little support, elected under an outdated process. Government needs to change the voting system for next May or postpone the elections until this is sorted out.”
“We need a mayor with a strong mandate to go to government and press for what our two counties need. The Supplementary Voting system provides a much better way to elect a mayor with broad support – and the government agrees – that’s why they are re-introducing it for mayors elected in 2027.
“If we continue with the current First Past the Post system, Suffolk and Norfolk could end up with a mayor with very little support, elected under an outdated process. Government needs to change the voting system for next May or postpone the elections until this is sorted out.”
Mid Suffolk has previously expressed its support for the creation of the mayor – and said the best way to ensure local representation on the new combined authority is through three new unitary authorities in Suffolk.
