The campaign says an elected mayor would be best for Liverpool

Its backers have said a US-style municipal leader would be the only way the city could have the leadership and vision it needs.

The campaign needs about 17,000 people to sign a petition before a referendum can be held in the city.

Council leader Warren Bradley said he did not believe that an elected mayor would solve any problems the council had experienced.

He recently replaced former leader Mike Storey who was found guilty of misconduct by the Standards Board for England and stepped down.

Increasingly I think the private sector is becoming concerned that the ideas and initiatives may be there but there's a lack of delivery Frank McKenna, Downtown Liverpool in Business

High profile regeneration projects such as Merseytram, plans to build a Fourth Grace on the city's waterfront and a proposed new stadium for Everton FC at the King's Dock have also collapsed in recent years.

Campaign organiser Liam Fogarty, who has taken an unpaid leave of absence from his job as a BBC journalist, said an elected mayor was necessary.

"If you ask the question 'Who runs Liverpool?' you can't get a straight answer," he said.

"The shambles over the Fourth Grace site, the difficulties over the Merseytram - time and again, important public projects either collapse or descend into back biting and infighting because no-one will accept responsibility.

"If you don't have a single person held to account answerable to the people at the ballot box then you're going to get that time and again."

Yes we've got to resolve some of the issues in the council but I wouldn't say a directly elected mayor can change that Warren Bradley, Leader of Liverpool City Council

Frank McKenna, of the Downtown Liverpool in Business group which represents much of the city's private sector, said an elected mayor would show "a sense of direction and leadership".

"I think the big issues that needed to be delivered, such as the trams, the Fourth Grace, new stadiums for the football clubs, are things that simply haven't happened," he said.

"Increasingly I think the private sector is becoming concerned that the ideas and initiatives may be there but there's a lack of delivery."

But Mr Bradley opposed the idea.

"Yes we've got to resolve some of the issues in the council but I wouldn't say a directly elected mayor can change that," he said.

"I just think you don't put all the power into the hands of one person.

Referendum response

"You look at the job that's been done in Liverpool over the last seven years - that could never been achieved by one person as elected mayor."

He added the last time there was a referendum six years ago only 1% of the electorate responded.

If the campaign was successful, Liverpool would be the first major city outside of London to have an elected mayor.