Officialdom

I think my borough probably created the term 'Politically Correct'. If it didn't, it certainly deserves three palms or perhaps three fig leaves for trying to be totally inclusive.

It has created an online consultation document (which nobody knows about) asking me whether I would prefer the Leader of the Council or a directly elected Mayor, to have the power to hire Important People internally.

That is the only question. The rest of the document asks me my name, address, age group, religion and ethnic origins. Not just black or white but pink, yellow, brown and mixtures thereof.

The next line asks me to "tick the box which best describes you". The two boxes on offer are 'Man' and 'Woman'. Well, blow me down! That's a definite first for asking me to think about what I put down.

Next they want to know whether my gender differs from my birth sex! If she were alive, I would consult my mother.

Last, they ask me to describe my sexual orientation and offers me a choice of heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian. I was tempted to put the cat among the pigeons by writing Not Sure.

What does this have to do with electing a mayor?