Opposition councillors have combined to call for a rethink on plans to change the way York's Local Government is run.

City of York Council's approvals committee last night agreed to write to the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions asking if the authority could retain the traditional committee system.

But the decision, brought about when Conservative group leader John Galvin backed a call by Liberal Democrat councillors, was today condemned as "gesture politics" by council leader Rod Hills.

The move came as the committee was discussing a consultation exercise on central Government proposals for changes to the way councils operate.

Leaflets will be going out to York residents in the next few days asking them to choose one of three options for the city's future government - a version of the current executive system, an elected Mayor, or an elected Mayor combined with a city manager.

But the Liberal Democrats argued that all councils should be able to retain an updated committee style system - currently an option only available to ones with populations of fewer than 75,000.

Their group leader Steve Galloway said: "With a General Election apparently only weeks way, this is a good time to reopen the issue of how our Local Government system is organised.

"If residents are to have a real choice, then they should be able to vote for a committee system which has developed over many years and which, many will feel, best addresses the needs of the British system of democracy."

Coun Galloway added that although the leaflets going to residents would not include the committee option, by coincidence they would probably be arriving at the same time as General Election canvassers.

"We are really hoping that Parliamentary candidates will say where they stand on the issue."

But Coun Hills said: "It's just gesture politics, just wasting people's time, as usual. They should have done it six months ago, when the legislation was going through Parliament.

"Perhaps it's got something to do with a General Election coming up."

He added there were a number of serious issues which needed sorting out around having an elected Mayor, including questions of accountability, which was why his group preferred their current model of having an executive, with proper scrutiny.

Coun Galvin said: "It's a last-ditch attempt to try and persuade the DETR to reconsider the committee system. If it's gesture politics, what's wrong with gesture politics now and then?"

Updated: 11:23 Wednesday, April 18, 2001