The request will be put to Leeds City Council following Monday night's public meeting in Morley Library's Baker Room when 14 people voted for a referendum.

Although 16 people voted against the motion, proposed by former town councillor Albert Slingsby and seconded by BNP member Mike Mee, under the Local Government Act of 1972 a parish poll must be called if more than 10 people ask for one.

However the Mayor of Morley, Coun Terry Grayshon, who chaired the meeting, said that what they were asking was impossible in law.

He said: "I have some legal advice which really scuppers the entire thing because under section 15 of the Local Government Act 1972 the chairman of a parish council (also known as the mayor) is selected from among the councillors annually. I am quite happy to let you have a vote about whether Morley should have a directly elected mayor but the legislation won't allow it to happen."

"If 10 people want to have a parish poll on this matter I would have to ask the town clerk to contact Leeds City Council about this but the message would come back that it cannot be done."

There were around 70 people at the meeting but only those living in the Morley Town Council area were allowed to speak or vote.

Graham Teal said: "I spoke to Leeds City Council's elections department and the price he gave me was £14,000 to run this parish poll. I asked him to justify it because it seemed rather expensive and he told me that it was down to the fact that Morley is quite a large area with lots of wards and there is a legal requirement to place a polling station in each ward.

He added: "A parish poll is just a test of public opinion, the town council is not obliged to take it on board. I think past mayors of Morley have done a fantastic job so I have no problem with that but to test public opinion on whether we need to have a democratically elected Mayor shouldn't cost £14,000."

Glynis Holmes said: "I feel that we, the electorate are putting our trust in them (the councillors) to deal with matters of the town and by choosing the mayor they are dealing with the matters of the town.

"I have dealt with mayors going back five, six years and they have all worked bloody hard."

"I feel we can leave it to the normal elections and let the people who we have voted for to get on and deal with the business we have voted them in to do."

Coun Joyce Sanders (MBI, Churwell) a former mayor of Morley said: "We were elected by people as councillors and they put us on Morley Town Council to represent them in our wards to do our best for this area.