News / Politics
Paul Saville to run for mayor of Bristol
Paul Saville, the man who caught the mayor swearing on video, will stand against George Ferguson in next May’s election.
Saville was told: “I’ve listened to you, now fuck off,” by Ferguson during an altercation in the Bearpit in 2013.
He now plans to stand as the city’s next mayor, taking to crowdfunding to raise the £500 needed as a deposit. Ferguson is also crowdfunding for his campaign.
In a short statement aimed at winning backers, Saville said Ferguson had “singlehandedly override [sic] our democracy – and should be stopped as soon as possible”.
He also coined a new term – “Gentriferguson” – to describe “skyrocketing” rental prices and the impact of student accommodation and “plush hotels” in the city centre.
Saville said he would be running a “people’s campaign” to engage citizens of Bristol about what they wanted to be changed.
Supporters of his campaign are encouraged to wear a “crazy hat”, he said. “I always finds it helps one with public squeaking.”
Saville appeared on ITV’s Parking Wars earlier this year where he was seen being ejected from a council meeting discussing residents’ parking zones and arguing with contractors painting new parking bays in Montpelier.
He first appeared in the news in 2009 when he was arrested for criminal damage for writing pro-civil liberties messages with water soluble chalk on the pavement. His case, which cost police £5,000, was dropped.
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