‘Getting rid of the mayor would relegate Bristol to the status of a parish council’

When I first decided to run to be a councillor earlier this year, I did it because I knew the value councillors have in their local communities, regardless of whether the council has an elected mayor.

The executive power held by the mayor is far from the be-all and end-all of decision-making in Bristol; it’s councillors who hold the power to make some of the most tangible decisions.

Nothing attracts attention and controversy in local politics more than three things: building developments, council spending, and licensing. All the decisions on these matters rest with councillors.

It’s councillors in planning committees who vote on whether building developments get permission, and decide which areas are designated for development through the Local Plan (the document that designates where and what developers can and cannot build), not the mayor.

It’s councillors that vote on the budget every year, controlling what the mayor can and cannot spend. Criticisms of council spending have been levelled at the administration, but ultimately, it was councillors that approved the budget for that, not the mayor.

It’s councillors that have the power to grant or revoke licenses for restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. One of the biggest debates in Bristol is on whether to revoke the licenses of sexual entertainment venues – it’s councillors who will decide this, not the mayor.

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Read more: ‘Bristol’s mayoral model has failed to deliver on its promises’

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Despite the powers reserved for councillors, having a mayor has put Bristol on the map and has finally managed to unlock a stagnant council, that, for decades, was bogged down in bureaucracy and looking inwards.

A mayor brings accountability; someone to vote out when it goes wrong or re-elect when it goes well. It provides national and global leadership – when councils across the UK have to spend time scrambling over limited government grants, it gives us someone who can be dedicated to getting the best deal for Bristol.

I feel I have to outline the role of councillor, because, sadly, some councillors fail to recognise the important role they play in city leadership. They feel consigned to not winning a mayoral election on a city-wide scale, so are attempting to overthrow the whole system and replace it with something new – or should I say, very old.

The proposal being put forward to council on Tuesday is to get rid of the mayoral position and dish its powers out between all-party committees. This system was used in the 80s and 90s – the decades of bickering and inaction – but was abolished by New Labour. However, the Tories passed a bill to allow councils to revert to this.

Labour and Greens currently have the same number of councillors at City Hall – photo: Martin Booth

Picture Jeremy Corbyn and Priti Patel on the same committee, trying to come to an agreement on a sorely needed Green New Deal. They’d reach a standstill and nothing would get done. Yet, the same situation, albeit with different characters, would happen in Bristol City Council. Regardless of your political leanings, this situation isn’t sustainable. Consensus politics won’t solve the climate and housing crises.

In a committee system, policies would be formulated by unelected officials; councillors wouldn’t have the power to implement the manifesto on which they were elected. Policies would be presented to a committee and then watered down until they are acceptable to everyone. When things went wrong or a policy was unpopular, committee members would finger-point and blame each other.

Whether or not you agree with all of Marvin’s decisions, he’s put forward a clear vision for the city, stood up for Bristol on a national stage, and been transparent and accountable.

There’s a reason why the archaic, unaccountable, inefficient committee system was outlawed in the 90s, and there’s a reason why no major cities use it either. Turning back the clock would relegate us to the status of a parish council.

The supposed benefit of increased oversight meaning bad decisions can’t be made is a flat out lie. In the last few weeks, Wirral Council has had to ask the Government for exceptional financial support, as they have to make £80m in budget savings by 2025/26. They commissioned an independent report to look at this. The report blamed their governance1. Surprise, surprise – they have a committee system.

So, you have to wonder why some councillors are pushing for this change of governance.

To say it’s more ‘accountable’ is a joke. Most readers will know who Marvin Rees or George Ferguson is, but I question whether anyone knows which councillors sit on which committees – I sure don’t. As well as this, the committee system has been derided by academics as “opaque, cumbersome, slow and unaccountable”, and, is so regressive that not even the Tories favour it – instead preferring a leader and cabinet system.

The biggest city to use the committee system is Brighton, where its cumbersome nature was on stark display in recent weeks. Brighton recently had their bin workers strike and it took weeks to reach a resolution, no doubt in part due to any resolution having to pass through unneeded bureaucratic hoops, and resulted in mountains of bin bags piling up on their streets.

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Read more: Hillfields councillor Ellie King joins Bristol’s cabinet

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Now’s not the time to turn back the clock to a committee system, and equally, now’s not the time for a referendum.

We had elections only last May; the Tories and the Lib Dems both ran effectively as a single-issue party of abolishing the position of mayor and they received 29 per cent of the vote between them.

We have a new Covid variant, a cost-of-living crisis, businesses still struggling, climate and housing crises – yet some councillors are choosing to navel-gaze.

We already have to make £24m in savings due to an increase in Adult Social Care during Covid. Holding a referendum would add at least another £700,000 to that.

The Labour Group will be opposing this motion, and instead, will continue getting on with the job our voters elected us to do.

If you feel the same way, please get in touch with your local councillors.

Ellie King is the Labour councillor for Hillfields and cabinet member with responsibility for public health, communities and Bristol One City

Main photo: Bristol Labour

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