‘Bristolians should care about how decisions are made’

Bristol will change the way it is governed in 2024, but who cares?

The majority of those voting in the referendum on 5 May 2022, voted against the elected mayor system and in favour of committees made up of elected councillors.

The result was conclusive, with 59 per cent favouring the committee system, but the turnout was 29 per cent: this was a higher than the 24 per cent turnout for the 2012 referendum when 53 per cent favoured an elected mayor system, but it does suggest lack of engagement with local democracy.

Whether or not residents understand or engage with the process, Bristol City Council spends many millions of pounds of our money and is responsible for a range of vital services including social care, schools, housing, waste collection, planning, licensing, museums, parks and more.

I believe Bristolians should care about how decisions are made and how our money is spent, and we should feel sufficiently empowered to ask pertinent questions about the governance of our city.

Bristol was approved with the introduction of citizens’ assemblies in January 2020 – photo Martin Booth

The change in the governance system, and the requirement to consider the finer details of the committee system, offers an opportunity to develop a more inclusive approach to understanding, and hopefully improving, local democratic processes.

Key arguments for removing the elected mayor include the over-concentration of power in the mayor’s office, lack of transparency in decision-making, and the marginalisation of local councillors in matters affecting their wards.

Business West leaders unsuccessfully urged councillors to vote against having a governance referendum at all, but they also stated: “We share the legitimate concerns that the role of councillors in decision making has been restricted and that the expansive remit of the  mayor risks overloading one individual… We want an open debate about all these points so that we can see democracy strengthened as well as retain the leadership needed.”

But what form should an “open debate” take?

A referendum in May asked voters to decide whether to stick with the existing mayoral model or scrap it in place of a committee system – photo: Betty Woolerton

At the extraordinary full council meeting in May, in response to questions about the transition from an elected mayor to the new committee system, Marvin Rees stated: “There is no transition period” and “I would suggest you approach members of the committee exploring the council’s governance regarding the process”.

This suggests Mayor Rees does not regard it as part of his remit to engage in conversations about the changeover to a new committee system. He may be right: his involvement might well be regarded with suspicion, given his stated reluctance for cross-party working.

So who will be shaping the new system and overseeing change?

It has recently been announced that a cross-party working group of 12 councillors is considering details of the new committee system, chaired by cabinet member and Labour councillor for Hartcliffe and Withywood Helen Holland who indicated “how we engage with citizens in the work that we’re doing” is “very high on the agenda”.

Although engaging citizens may be high on the agenda, we still have no indication of what form it might take.

One way of engaging citizens is a citizens assembly – a representative group of citizens who are selected at random from the population to learn about, deliberate upon, and make recommendations in relation to a particular issue.

The local government association states: “The deliberative element – through which citizens are given time and resources to learn about, reflect on, and discuss a topic in-depth – also marks it out from other consultative methods which may require participants to give their opinions before they have had a chance to take a balanced look at the arguments.”

Although mayor Rees may prefer not to be involved in discussing the new committee system, he has praised Bristol’s first citizens assembly which focussed on the city’s recovery in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and argued: “this process offered an opportunity to meaningfully engage our citizens… the variety of experiences they brought to the table will allow us to better drive change that works for everyone.”

As someone who originally voted for an elected mayor system, but now shares the concerns of many citizens about the subsequent undermining of local democracy, I hope the cross-party working group will support the implementation of a citizens’ assembly.

The referendum result provides an opportunity to encourage and enable wider participation in Bristol’s democratic processes and, in the words of the outgoing mayor, “better drive change that works for everyone”.

We should make the most of that opportunity.

Suzanne Audrey is a Bristolian with an interest in local democracy.

Main photo: Betty Woolerton

Read more: ‘Historic motion’ puts decision-making in hands of Bristol citizens

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