Plymouth residents have voted not to have a directly elected mayor.
With a modest turnout of just 19.11%, and following extensive counting that stretched into the early hours, results emerged at approximately 1am revealing that 19,840 residents had backed Plymouth City Council's existing leader and cabinet structure - whilst 18,044 had supported transitioning to a directly elected mayoral system.
The 'A Mayor for Plymouth' campaign, which had championed the transformation, expressed disappointment, with businessman Angus Forbes, who spearheaded the initiative, saying: "Democracy has been trampled on".
He described it as a "sad day" and criticised efforts to halt new city mayors, claiming these had misled people into thinking the referendum was "cancelled".
Conversely, the 'Plymouth Knows Better' campaign, which had battled to preserve the existing arrangements, celebrated triumphantly, reports .
Labour councillor Charlotte Holloway, who represented the campaign during the count, said: "Plymouth really does know better. People saw straight through this failed, costly experiment and they made that known at the ballot box."
She challenged Mr Forbes, who had secured over 13,000 signatures on a petition to initiate the referendum, to reimburse the £410,000 expense, adding: "Plymouth has sent a clear message. We call on Mr Forbes to take responsibility for this folly, and foot the bill for this vanity project so Plymouth gets its money back."
One hundred and eleven polling stations opened their doors in Plymouth at 7am on July 17, closing promptly at 10pm. The first ballot box made its way to the Life Centre in Central Park by 10.11pm, with the count taking place there.
The results were declared a mere three hours later.
The voter turnout was notably low at just 19.11%, which translates to 38,015 of the 198,932 eligible voters. Critics, including the Plymouth Knows Better team, highlighted the referendum's cost as a point of contention.
Cllr Holloway criticised the referendum, saying: "This referendum was always a waste of time and public money. Voter turnout was one of the lowest Plymouth has ever seen - not because people didn't care, but because they knew it was pointless."
She pointed out that the Labour Government's ongoing devolution bill in Parliament could nullify any attempts to create new city mayors, saying: "New legislation is clear: Plymouth cannot have a city mayor.
"That's been known for months. But Mr Forbes pushed ahead anyway, wasting £410,000 that could have gone to services working people actually rely on."
Cllr Jemima Laing, deputy leader of Plymouth City Council, also weighed in: "The people of Plymouth have rejected this idea, and rightly so. This referendum should never have gone ahead. It stirred up division and it ended up spotlighting some of the very worst elements of local politics.
"The 'yes' campaign was riddled with personal attacks and fuelled by people chasing their own political gain. We've been forced to waste £410,000 on a question to which the answer was always going to be 'no'.
"The sooner we put this behind us, the better. Plymouth deserves ambitious, positive politics that puts people first - and that's what we're getting on with."
Luke Pollard, Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said: "This referendum was always a dead end, and I'm pleased Plymouth has rejected this costly, failed experiment. It was clear from the start that it would never lead to a city mayor for Plymouth. I told Mr Forbes last year that this model was being scrapped, and yet he pushed ahead regardless.
"At a time when our city needs every penny focused on frontline services - on social care, helping kids in care, and filling our potholes - £410,000 has been wasted on a vote that changes nothing."
Fred Thomas, Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View, said: "I am really pleased that the people of Plymouth have voted to reject this model that has been tried, tested and failed across the country. We now need to move on and put the division behind us.
"This referendum was a waste of time, money, and energy. The Government has already made clear that no new city mayors will be created – the referendum was pointless.
"I know that people want to see change in Plymouth and that is why they may have voted for a mayor, I want to see change too. But this referendum was never going to deliver it – so let's move on and work together to make our city an even better place to live."
Mr Forbes, whose wife is former ballerina and Strictly Come Dancing judge Darcey Bussell, argued the outcome and voter participation did not represent a "true reflection" of Plymouth residents' appetite for transformation, whilst demanding Prime Minister Keir Starmer "apologise to the people of Plymouth for interfering in the last stages of a live referendum" through the introduction of the devolution bill.
He accused the Government of "aggressively" meddling in the process.
However, striking a more optimistic tone, he suggested the referendum would still herald "the start of change" and urged residents to "keep working to make Plymouth a great city once again".
His vision includes the Government establishing the proposed regional mayor within the next six months, with Plymouth as its base.
Mr Forbes maintained that only through this approach could Plymouth begin its transformation by securing a "true champion of this city chosen directly by the people".
He also criticised opponents of the directly elected mayor for inflating the annual cost to £1.5m, when he claimed the typical city mayoral office expenditure was £258,000.
Mr Forbes further alleged that the opposition campaign enjoyed access to the electoral roll whilst his campaign was denied the same privilege. Mr Forbes expressed gratitude to his supporters and team, along with fellow pro-mayoral campaigners who "stood up for change and progress."
Prior to the result being declared, mayoral advocates had expressed optimism, with former Labour councillor Chaz Singh confidently predicting victory and declaring: "Labour's days are numbered. Peter Gold, of Reform º£½ÇÊÓƵ, forecast a "tight" result but said the "yes" vote would triumph."
Nevertheless, the current deputy Lord Mayor and Conservative councillor Chip Tofan accurately predicted the outcome, stating: "I reckon it's going to be a 'no'."
Conservative councillor Lee Finn raised concerns about the disappointing turnout figures, commenting before the announcement: "It's extremely low. There are questions with regard to whether it represents the wishes of the people of Plymouth."
