WELCOME to the second of our elected mayor webchats, today featuring Geoff Reid, the man behind talkswindon.

Geoff, a 44-year-old married father-of-two, is a resident of West Swindon.

He isn't a member of a political party but describes himself as being keenly interested in Swindon's politicians, particularly in what they say and do. Geoff developed an online community where Swindonians discuss and debate events in the council chamber.

"We should scrutinise the words and actions of our local councillors much more", said Geoff.

"If members of the talkswindon forum hadn't taken an interest in the roll-out of wheelie bins and put pressure on SBC cabinet members, every bin in the borough would now be micro-chipped and residents would probably be 'paying as they throw', and paying much more as a result."

Talkswindon is currently running a petition in a bid to bring about a referendum on the issue of elected mayors.

Geoff's favourite phrase is: quis custodiet ipsos custodes? or 'who watches the watchers?'.

Geoff will be online from 12pm to debate the pros and cons of elected mayors. We would ask all participants to be polite and observe the usual Newsquest rules. Thank you, and enjoy the debate.