A FORMER Waltham Forest mayor has called for a directly elected mayoral system to be put in place so that the borough can prosper.

Narinder Matharoo, who was the mayor in 1993/4 and was a councillor in William Morris ward for 20 years, has said he believes the move is necessary as Waltham Forest is “not making progress”.

He said: “Waltham Forest needs a democratically elected mayor to make the political decisions that will take the borough forward.

“He or she would have all the powers and wouldn't have to deal with a coalition of two political parties.”

Under the system, the mayor would be voted in by the electorate and would then appoint a cabinet to help him or her.

Mr Matharoo said the current coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats was not efficient enough at making decisions and said it was to blame for problems such as the empty arcade site in Walthamstow.

He added: “They've spent years just keeping it empty and yet they still haven't really given an idea of where they're going with that site.”

Under the current system in Waltham Forest, a council leader is appointed by the majority group's councillors, who then appoints a cabinet, made up of a coalition of Labour and the Lib Dems.

The mayor is only a ceremonial position in the borough but since 2000, councils can bring in the elected mayoral system, subject to a "yes" vote in a referendum.

There are 12 authorities in England with directly elected mayors, including Hackney and Newham.

Supporters of directly elected mayoral systems say it provides greater accountability to the electorate and increases interest in voting.

Former council leader Clyde Loakes expressed opposition, saying the system of leader and cabinet has worked well in Waltham Forest.

But current council leader Cllr Chris Robbins has reserved judgement as a consultation is currently taking place on whether the system should be adopted in Waltham Forest.

He said: “I think the most important issue is how close people are to their local councillors – that's the most crucial thing in any set up.

“It's going out to consultation and it's going to cabinet in about October. It has to be an operation for post-May 2010.”