Renewed calls for the people of Oxford to elect a mayor to run council services in the city have received a mixed reception.

The Government's Communities Secretary Hazel Blears told the Oxford Mail the public wanted leaders in local government they could hold to account, and urged the city to follow London's lead.

Ms Blears said two mayors of London boroughs had transformed their local councils from "basket-cases" to high-performing authorities - and said such a system could also benefit Oxford.

She said: "The longer I'm in this job, the more important I think it is that there's visible, accountable leadership at every level.

"The public is increasingly keen to see who's responsible and who they can hold to account when things aren't going the way they want them to.

"I personally think elected mayors are a good thing."

Six years ago, a campaign for an elected mayor in Oxford failed - despite the support of 44 per cent, or 14,692 people, who voted in a referendum.

John Power, a former county councillor and Lord Mayor, was part of the Democratically Elected Mayor of Oxford pressure group, which led the campaign.

Mr Power said: "The mayor should be elected by the whole city.

"We were pushing elected mayors for the sake of democracy and we found among the people it was a great idea.

"The great majority of Oxford is not represented."

The post of Lord Mayor is largely ceremonial. The current holder of the post, John Tanner, opposes the idea of a directly-elected mayor.

He said: "It would be a disaster if people like me were allowed to get their way every time. We have had a referendum and the people of Oxford have made it clear they don't want one."

City council leader John Goddard was unavailable for comment.

The option of directly-elected mayors for local authorities in England and Wales was introduced in 2000. Councils that want to move to a mayoral system are required to obtain the public's approval through a referendum.

The best-known directly-elected mayor is London's Ken Livingstone, but there are also mayors running Bedford, Doncaster, Hackney, Lewisham, Mansfield, Middlesbrough, Newham, North Tyneside, Stoke-on-Trent, Torbay, Watford and Hartlepool - where Stuart Drummond, alias H'Angus the Monkey, the mascot of the town's football club, holds the job.