News / Politics
Rees says focus on global issues not irrelevant to people’s everyday lives
Being chair of Core Cities UK is one of four extra incomes that Marvin Rees has on top of his annual mayoral salary of almost £80,000.
(The others as listed on his register of interests are as a non-executive director of Plimsoll Productions, chair of the City Regions Board of the Local Government Association [LGA] and an honorarium from 17 Rooms.)
As chair of Core Cities UK, Rees leads an alliance of 11 cities with a mission “to unlock the full potential of our great city regions to create a stronger, fairer economy and society”.
is needed now More than ever
Writing in the Local Government Chronicle, Rees has confronted criticism he has received for focusing on issues outside of Bristol’s city walls.
This criticism has included his decision to fly from the UK to Canada in order to give a 14-minute TED talk.
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Read more: ‘No irony’ in flying 4,600 miles for TED talk on climate, says mayor
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“In my time as mayor of Bristol and chair of Core Cities UK, I have received some criticism for the time I have spent on international issues which some see as irrelevant to their everyday lives,” Rees wrote in the LGC, in an article timed to coincide with the G7 summit in Japan.
“Of course, our starting point as local leaders needs to be to improve the lives of our citizens. But global events impact upon the lives of our citizens all the time.”
Rees added: “So many of the issues discussed at the G7 will not be that remote or removed from our citizens’ daily lives. That is why it is vital that city leaders input into international frameworks and global processes.
“The first responsibility of local leaders will always be to the places they represent, but we must recognise that cities’ international importance will only grow as the 21st century progresses.
“Our cities fully deserve their place on the world stage and as Core Cities leaders we will continue to advocate for this.”
Main photo: Core Cities UK
Read next:
- Mayor responds to press briefing row that led to media boycott
- Rees: ‘The buck stops with me in Bristol’
- Bristol to ‘influence the United Nations’ in new council bid
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