Elected mayors are commonplace in continental Europe and in parts of America but here in Britain we are only now taking our hesitant first steps towards having one in London.

What a shame that the process is being besmirched by the worst sort of political fixing and an unedifying list of candidates.

Londoners should be looking up to their new first citizen. They are likely to have the choice between a Tory with a dubious past, an uninspiring elderly ex-Cabinet minister and a Liberal Democrat nobody's ever heard of.

The one candidate who seems a natural for the post, Ken Livingstone, may not manage to leap over all the hurdles Labour has placed in his path to prevent him from being chosen.

Firstly, the party fixed the voting system to favour Frank Dobson and next it gave old Dobbo access to the names of London Labour members ahead of everyone else.

Labour has also managed to persuade a couple of party moderates to remove their names from the race, leaving only Dobbo, our Ken and the obdurate, politically unappealing Glenda Jackson.

Meanwhile on the Tory side, the choice is Lord Archer, whose CV would make a good basis for one of his novels but who hardly inspires confidence as a political leader.

The idea of having an elected mayor is to bring a bit of spice and interest to local politics which are dreary to most people. The first citizen should be both a powerful symbol of the town or city and an effective voice for it.

Just over the water in Dieppe, Christian Cuvilliez is known by everyone as Mayor of Dieppe and since his election he's also become an MP. His predecessor was particularly well loved and when he died, the whole town went into mourning.

For the last quarter of a century, British towns have been stuck with having to choose their mayors from among a limited stock of councillors.

It wasn't always so. Before 1974, councillors could choose anyone they wanted from outside to be mayor and sometimes they did. In Chelsea, they chose Lord Cadogan, not just because he was the local squire but because he let hundreds of homes at low rents to keep a good social mix in the borough.

Now the idea is to let the people, rather than councillors, decide. In

theory this could lead to some really intriguing characters putting

themselves forward such as Richard Branson, who has flair as well as

business acumen.

Down in Sussex, there could be some really intriguing contests. The lists could attract characters such as broadcaster Simon Fanshawe, who heads The Place to Be, or Russell Hicks, to see how much support there really is for the Campaign for a Better Brighton and Hove.

Back in the capital, we shouldn't feel too sorry for Ken Livingstone if he gets eased out of the Labour nomination. After all he was guilty of some skullduggery himself when he took control of the Greater London Council, removing the assumed leader, Andrew McIntosh.

The opinion polls show that he'd win as mayor even if he stood as an independent. So Ken should not walk away from the contest if Dobbo is chosen as Labour candidate.

He may hear voices whispering in his ear saying: "Turn again, Livingstone."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.