An elected Mayor could be n the cards for Kirklees.

Councillors have said they would “reluctantly” accept an elected mayor as part of the long-awaited Yorkshire devolution deal.

But they have described the government’s handling of devolution as a “dog’s breakfast”.

Devolution deals are set to offer power over budgets such as transport, culture, job creation and for some areas the NHS.

But they have typically come with the caveat that an elected mayor must be in power.

In 2012 Leeds and Bradford were among a host of cities to reject elected mayors in a referendum.

Negotiations on a deal for Yorkshire have been held back by wrangling over which areas of the county are included.

Kirklees Council leader Clr David Sheard told the Examiner last year he favoured a West Yorkshire deal and was not keen on including North Yorkshire and Humberside.

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But at meeting of the full council, councillors of all parties agreed the chance to control huge pots of money had to be taken.

A motion was passed agreeing to “reluctantly” consider the devolution offer including an elected mayor.

Clr Sheard said talks on devolution had been difficult and he said there were fears of a lack of accountability if West Yorkshire devolution was brought in.

But he said people were worried that if you didn’t get a deal “you were going to be left behind”.

Councillors agreed an elected assembly that could over-rule the elected mayor was vital.

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“The whole process has been absolutely flawed,” said Clr Sheard.

He added: “None of us are enamoured at the prospect of having a mayor.”

Clr Peter McBride described the proposal from the government as a “dog’s breakfast” but said an elected assembly was vital.

Clr Peter McBride

Tory leader, Clr Robert Light, said: “If you’re not in the game you’re going to lose out. That’s the harsh reality but it’s true.

“It’s really important that we do have a deal. I think we have no choice but to go with an elected mayor.

“But it’s crucial that we get the governance right and an assembly that can hold that mayor to account.”

He added: “I hope we can get round a table with the government and thrash this out once and for all.”

Lib Dem, Clr Andrew Pinnock, said Kirklees should be “very very careful” about signing up to devolution.

Clr Andrew Cooper said democracy didn’t really exist.

He said: “We’ve got a government elected by 24% of the population who want to put elected mayors into areas where they’ve been overwhelming turned down in a referendum. I would look at putting so much power in the hands of one person and ask yourself if it really is a good thing.”

Clr David Ridgway said the key word in the motion was “reluctantly”.

He said: “An elected mayor is unnecessary. It creates too much power which creates a disconnect with local people.”