News / Politics
Rift revealed between Rees and metro mayor Bowles
A leaked letter reveals Marvin Rees’ concerns that he is being left out of discussions with Government by the regional metro mayor.
In the letter, revealed by BBC Radio Bristol, the Bristol mayor describes the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) as “a separate entity that doesn’t feel like we have a part in”.
While Labour’s Rees represents the city of Bristol, metro mayor Tim Bowles, a Conservative, is mayor for the wider region of Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
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Rees is sometimes left out of meetings of mayors across the UK, with Bowles representing Bristol and the region alongside other mayors including Manchester’s Andy Burnham and London’s Sadiq Khan.
In the letter, Rees wrote: “I am keen as you are to ensure the partnership we entered into through the Combined Authority structure is a success, and is seen as such.
“Bristol will not secure the funding it needs for the critical investment in infrastructure, housing and skills that is central to delivering the inclusive and sustainable future we need, if Government and other stakeholders are not confident in the effectiveness of WECA and our joint working.
“This is why I feel compelled to write and set out my concerns at how we are working together in the Combined Authority.”
Rees added: “We have in the past agreed the need for co-production, recognising the fundamental roles of the constituent Councils within WECA.
“But I do not experience much of this happening in practice. It has felt like we are merely being ‘consulted’ or informed by a separate entity that doesn’t feel we have a part in it.”
When Boris Johnson visited Bristol before the 2019 General Election, he mistakenly named Bowles as mayor of Bristol:
https://soundcloud.com/user-516143828/bristol247-interview-with-boris-johnson
BBC Bristol politics reporter Pete Simson said that if Rees and Bowles and are at loggerheads, “the timing really could not be worse”.
Johnson sees metro mayors as a direct way of communicating with the regions and the local authorities that they represent.
Simson said: “There are those who will argue that leaking this letter could be just as damaging to that relationship between the regions and government, or perhaps indeed point out the irony of Bristol’s Labour mayor Marvin Rees not working cross-party or disclosing information – exactly the sort of thing he’s been accused of by opposition councillors himself here in Bristol.”
In a statement, Bowles downplayed the issues, insisting that he and Rees are working together.
He said: “The mayor and combined authority are all working together to manage the region’s economic recovery.”
Main photo: Bristol City Council
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