Green mayoral candidate pledges to help Bristol ‘recover, then thrive’

Covid rules meant the launch of Sandy Hore-Ruthven’s 2021 mayoral manifesto was a fairly understated al fresco affair.

The pandemic has also seen a shift in focus for the Green candidate, who has put Bristol’s economic recovery front and centre of his pledges, promising to help the city rebuild and then thrive.

Standing outside the Station on Silver Street – a building owned by Creative Youth Network, a charity Sandy is CEO of – the mayoral hopeful said he wants to instigate a recovery plan that works for all communities and “especially the areas that have been forgotten by the current administration”.

The Green candidate promises to build 2,000 council homes by 2030 and retrofit all council houses to make them energy-efficient – a pledge first announced in 2020.

He also pledges to champion the economy, double employment support offered by the council to young people seeking work, cut bus fares in half for people under 21 and work to make green and active travel the most convenient choice and respond to the climate crisis.

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The launch heard speeches from Carla Denyer – the Green councillor who instigated the council’s climate emergency declaration – and Jo Sergeant, a former Labour councillor who recently defected to the Greens.

In a statement prior to the manifesto launch, Sandy said: “Our economy has really suffered as a result of the pandemic – and when the economy struggles, it’s ordinary people who are the ones who bear the brunt. As the furlough scheme winds down, we are likely to see a lot of unemployment, and we may lose even more local businesses.

“To bounce back from the pandemic quickly, our city needs a mayor who knows how to work with people and communities who face difficulties and help them to find new opportunities.

“This has been my job for the last 15 years – in that time as chief executive I’ve taken a very small youth charity to the largest in Britain of its type.

“My manifesto ensures that as our economy recovers, no one will get left behind; no parts of the city get forgotten, and that money and power get shared out far better than in recent years.

“As a city, we will make better decisions that blend the immediate needs of economic recovery with the long-term needs of actually tackling the climate emergency. Instead of just talking about it we will take action to ensure we are carbon neutral by 2030.

“I haven’t made any wild promises I can’t keep in this manifesto. I have, however, been clear about the direction in which I want to lead the city in every area over which the mayor has some control or influence now. I am committed to a new type of politics of openness and transparency – and that starts now with an open and complete policy agenda.”

Sandy will be running against Labour incumbent Marvin Rees, Lib Dem Caroline Gooch, Tory Alastair Watson, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidate Tom Baldwin and independents John Langley and Sean Donnelly.

Main photo by @JonCraig_Photos 

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