ONE of Bristol's most powerful and influential businessmen has ruled himself out the race to become Bristol's first all-powerful mayor.

Peter Hargreaves – one of the creators and a major driving force behind the incredibly successful Hargreaves Lansdown – has announced he will not stand for mayor and also claimed that Bristol could lose out in future years because the city council is hostile to big business.

Mr Hargreaves has been one of the council's harshest critics and in the past has labelled Bristol's politicians a "bunch of idiots".

This week his wealth management firm based on the Harbourside announced yet another set of record results against the backdrop of one of the worst recessions in living memory.

Peter Hargreaves created the company with his business partner Stephen Lansdown in his Clifton bedroom almost three decades ago. Over the last three decades it has grown to become one of the most respected financial institutions in the country and last year became a member of the exclusive FTSE 100 club.

The FTSE 100 is made up of the top 100 companies in the country and includes the likes of Rolls-Royce, the major banks, supermarkets and finance firms.

Mr Hargreaves has been an outspoken critic of the city council in the past but he believes a lack of political leadership will ultimately damage Bristol's fragile economy at a crucial time.

He said: "When you look at the company we have done extraordinarily well against a very difficult background. To put it bluntly the economy is buggered at the moment and it is not going to get better any time soon but that has not stopped us growing profits."

He went on: "No matter what they say the Government is still spending fat too much money.

"There is all this talk about cuts but the national deficit actually went up last month. We are still spending more money than we can afford to and no one has tackled the issue."

Mr Hargreaves said: "Here in Bristol the situation is not that much better. We are told that the public sector is supposed to be making cuts but then you have schools which have budgets for marketing.

"You have to ask the question that why schools feel the need to spend money on marketing, it just doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

The Evening Post has run a series of articles examining the state of the city and posing the question whether Bristol is being outstripped by other major regional cities when it comes to investment and amenities.

People living in Bristol will go to vote in May on whether the city should have an elected mayor with new wide-ranging powers.

But Mr Hargreaves is far from convinced a new system would make any real difference.

He said: "The problem in this country is that people working in the public sector simply don't have a clue when it comes to business.

"We also have a problem in Bristol because as we soon as we vote for one party, another election comes along and we have someone else in charge.

"I am not convinced that a mayor will make a difference. All we would be doing is having one idiot in charge instead of a bunch of idiots."

Mr Hargreaves said: "There is no way I would stand as mayor. To make a difference you have to be given the power to make changes. The new mayor is going to be no different to what has gone before.

"I could run this city on a third of what the council spends and do a much better job. The people in the public sector don't seem to know what they are doing. I wouldn't employ any of them at this company."

Turning his targets on the way leaders of the city council, Mr Hargreaves said: "What worries me the most is how heavily reliant the city is on the public sector.

"I honestly believe the council is hostile to business. They don't understand the needs of business and don't do anything to help them.

"Right in the middle of a recession they are talking about increasing business rates, it just beggars belief.

"You just have to ask the question when was the last time a major business moved to Bristol and the answer is about 30 years ago.

"The only thing Bristol has going for it is the location, apart from that there is no real reason for big companies to move here. If you add all of that up it really does make you worry for the future of the city."

However, according to one survey, not all of the business community is hostile to the idea of an elected mayor.

More than 280 senior business leaders were asked whether Bristol would benefit from an elected mayor.

Forty-five per cent of said an elected city major would provide stronger leadership, while another 35 per cent said a mayor was a good idea, so long as any powers conferred covered Bristol, Bath and the rest of the West of England.

No one surveyed came out against the idea: the remaining fifth argued they needed more detail to come to a decision.

Bristol's competitiveness also came under the spotlight at the event which was hosted by property firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

Thirty five percent said better public transport was needed to make the city more competitive, while 30 per cent said closer co-operation between communities would unlock more of the Bristol's potential.

A quarter said what was needed to take the city to the next level was a world-class sports stadium.

Jeremy Richards, head of the Bristol office of Jones Lang LaSalle, said the findings showed that business leaders in Bristol want a greater sense of direction for the city.

He added: "Clearly the feeling is that a mayor with the right powers could deliver more for the city than the current political arrangements.

"It will be interesting to see whether this happens in the years ahead, but the survey shows where business sentiment lies."