A petition raised 8,500 votes in support of the referendum

Ceredigion councillors have decided to hold the referendum on the question on Thursday 20th May.

Leaders of all the political parties represented at Tuesday's meeting said that they would oppose having an elected mayor for Ceredigion.

This included the governing group made up of the Independents and Liberal Democrats, the main opposition group Plaid Cymru and the sole Labour councillor.

'Dismissive'

But a row erupted in the council chamber during a debate, with council leader Dai Lloyd Evans accusing campaigners of right-wing political tendencies.

Shouting broke out in the public gallery, when Mr Lloyd Evans said he was wondering whether a branch of the British National Party had been set up in Ceredigion.

He made the remarks in the context of saying that the referendum had been forced on the people of the county by a small group of activists.

This prompted an angry response by Simon Brooks, one of the leaders of the mayoral campaign and a leading figure in the Welsh language pressure group Cymuned.

Mr Brooks said afterwards: "In effect, Dai Lloyd Evans is saying that 8,500 people that signed the petition calling for a referendum for mayor are facists.

"Comments like these clearly show we have a council that is openly dismissive of its own electorate. This is not the sort of political debate that the people of Ceredigion deserve."

Councillors were told by the council's chief executive, Owen Watkin, that the referendum had to take place by 23 May.

If people vote yes, it will be the first directly-elected mayor in Wales, with the election probably taking place on 21 October.

The assembly was forced into action after grassroots campaigners collected 8,500 names on a petition calling for the referendum.

It followed protests in Ceredigion against plans to build 6,500 new homes in the county.

Campaigners claim the houses will destroy the local environment, damage the Welsh language. They say too many of the planned properties are executive-type developments, which local people cannot afford.