Representatives from Bradford’s main political groups debated the case for an Elected mayor at a public meeting last night.

The event at the Midland Hotel, held just three days before voters go to the polls to rule on a new model of leadership for City Hall, saw differing views presented by the Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Green and Respect party speakers.

Opening the event, panel chairman Ratna Lachman, director of Just West Yorkshire, said the debate aimed to help voters make informed choices, as the outcome of the referendum would have “wide ramifications” for the city.

Opening statements were heard from each of the five speakers before presentations were given by Aidan Rave, former deputy mayor of Doncaster Council, which has adopted the elected mayoral system, and academic Wyn Grant, of the Elected Mayors and City Leadership Commission.

Councillor Simon Cooke (Bingley Rural), deputy leader of Bradford Council’s Tory group, spoke in support of an elected mayor for Bradford and suggested Councillor John Pennington (Bingley) as a suitable candidate.

He described the current system, whereby the leader of the Council is chosen by councillors, as “opaque” and “barely accountable”.

“Having voted for a councillor, that councillor gets a vote in secret, behind closed doors. I don’t consider that to be accountable, transparent or democratic,” he said.

Councillor Kevin Warnes (Shipley), deputy leader of the Council’s Green Party group, said an elected mayor would enable too much power to be in the hands of one person.

“An elected mayor will be responsible for a wide range of areas of policy, including setting budget,” he said.

Councillor David Green (Wibsey), the Council’s executive member for regeneration, said there were differing views within the Labour group on the issue but the majority of members opposed the elected mayoral system. He said if there had been “groundswell” of support for an elected mayor, a new system could have been introduced in Bradford at any point during the last ten years.

It would not be possible for one person to reflect the views of all the communities that make up the district, Coun Green added.

Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Jeanette Sunderland (Idle and Thackley) also spoke against elected mayors, saying the city was being pressured into voting for the proposed system David Cameron.

Elected mayors were also at odds with Local Enterprise Partnerships and could see too much power in the hands of one person, she said.

Alyas Karmani, who is standing for Respect in Little Horton, claimed an elected mayor would be a “local champion”, who would unify the city and harness its assets.

A new model of leadership would also bring an end to “policies by mafias, gatekeepers and Godfathers” and “pandering to ethnic block politics”.

Mr Rave, who outlined the pros and cons, of elected mayors, said: “A city like Bradford deserves to be more than an outpost of central government.”