‘The mayoral model creates a politics where sycophancy is rewarded and challenge is suppressed’

Why I think the mayoral model needs to go, and this is based on five years of working as a Labour councillor here in Bristol.

Firstly, the mayoral system is sexist

Having a mayor is a massive feminist issue. It’s a model based upon the idea of an alpha male leader. Almost all mayors in England are men, there are very few women as it’s a model based on concentrated power that suits men.

Where women are involved, women are often used not for their own attributes but as a tool to block another man from taking on the role. I have witnessed in my time, those women who succeed in the mayoral system as having been the friends, wives and daughters of the mayor’s network – blocking the route for women to enter on their own merit, and masking the massive equality issue in doing so.

And that’s not all, who has heard the defence line, that the mayoral system is about getting things done? The mayoral system is said to get things done. However, it’s only interested in getting things done which involve wearing a hard hat and hi-viz. It’s not about getting things done like sorting our SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), or adult social care or libraries.

The mayoral system is anti-democratic

Yes, there is a vote every four years but the number of likely successful candidates is tiny. The selection of mayoral candidates is done in secret by small cabals of party members.

The mayoral system works on patronage

The mayor selects the cabinet, the key roles in the Labour group of councillors and also the party whip. These roles are all paid, creating people who owe their income to the mayor, and also, those who want to get on know they have to suck up to the mayor for advancement.

What we should have is a group leader acting as leader of the council, accountable to the Labour group and, more importantly, the full council. A body of democratically elected representatives of the city.

So you see why the mayoral model is effectively a corrupt model which ensures that the mayor is not challenged from within.

Business leaders love having a mayor. They know they can get their own way by cosying up to him. Council officers also know that the mayor has ultimate power so will ignore other voices and back the mayor to the hilt.

Community organisations and other groups also know that if they attack the mayor, he can move funding away from them and also funnel funding towards his pet projects. We have seen this with both the mayors we have had so far. The mayoral system only makes space for those who support the mayor. It creates a politics where sycophancy is rewarded and challenge is suppressed, isolated, or removed.

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Read more: Business bigwigs urge councillors to vote to retain elected mayor 

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We don’t need a North Korean style political system in Bristol. Democracy across the world is under threat and we have a chance to stand up against this, here in Bristol, right now.

Women should never be the reserve army in democracy, allowed to participate only because a man wants them to.

So I urge you, if you are a feminist or if you are a democrat you must vote to end the mayoral system.

Nicola Bowden-Jones argues the mayoral model is a sexist one – photo: Bristol City Council

Nicola Bowden-Jones was the Labour councillor for Frome Vale from 2016 to 2021 and stood as the Labour parliamentary candidate for Kingswood in 2019. Nicola has worked for a number of local authorities during her career and is a member of Unite the Union

Main photo: Martin Booth 

Read more:

Bristol’s mayoral model debate: The battle for and against 

‘Marvin has served as a role model and inspiration for many’ 

‘Bristol is ours, it’s not for a mayor to do what they want’