Candidates unite in call for more people power
SOME of Bristol's mayoral candidates have come out in favour of people power instead of leaving all the decision-making to politicians.
Labour's Marvin Rees told a hustings meeting yesterday there needs to be a sea change "in the way in which we 'do' Bristol".
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Above and right, mayoral candidates and the audience at the event at the Arc Cafe in St Mary Redcliffe Church undercroft Photos: BRML2012 1009D-007_C
He said: "It's no good making decisions in the halls of power and then going out to consultation and saying to people, 'What do you think about this decision we are going to make?'
"The boundaries between everyday life and power must be much more porous.
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"Unless the decision-making is shared among people from all backgrounds, then the decision-making machine is going to work in the same old way."
He said that the elected mayor would not be some kind of Messiah who had all the answers to Bristol's problems.
The elected mayor would need people to engage in the city's future.
Lib Dem candidate Jon Rogers said he wanted to give more power to local communities.
"We've already given some power down to the Neighbourhood Partnerships because we recognise that local communities often know far better than central Government or councils how best to spend the money in their own areas.
"If they have more control, then it is a much more effective way to provide the services which are most needed.
"I feel passionately that we should be reducing diversity because nobody is better or worse than anyone else."
Geoff Gollop, the Tory candidate, said the key was to empower people so the best decisions could be made.
He said: "Everyone has got a view which is worth listening to. Every view counts. The only way is not just to say, 'We want to give' but actually giving.
"I've got an example in my ward, for example, where a bus lane has been put in at a cost of £100,000 which nobody wants.
"That money could have been much better spent on people in need. We just don't have the power at the moment.
"One of the roles of the elected mayor is to empower people so that their view actually counts."
George Ferguson (Independent) said the diversity in the city was something to be celebrated.
But much more needed to be done to make people feel part of the governance of the city.
He said: "We have a Council House which is the seat of local government and it's more like a fortress. Most people don't relate to it at all.
"It should have much more open access. It should be an open place, a City Hall, a market place where people feel they can come and go and play a part in the governance of the city. We need youth mayors, we need people who represent communities and are not necessarily councillors.
"We need a mayor who mixes with people, someone who gets down into the communities.
"It's really important that we have a mayor who mixes.
"I love mixing with people from all walks of life – it gives me a buzz."
Daniella Radice (Green Party) in answer to a question about supporting voluntary groups, said it was important not to cut services which were provided to the most vulnerable people in our communities.
She said: "We must say to Government that you are taking more money from us than you give back.
"We have to say to them that we must have more of it to give more help to people."
The hustings were held at the Arc Cafe in the undercroft of St Mary Redcliffe Church.
The cafe is a community project organised by the Addiction Recovery Agency in partnership with the church.
It is staffed by a team of trained volunteers who are in recovery themselves and those who use the cafe are people who might be homeless or are living in vulnerable circumstances due to domestic violence, mental health issues or housing problems.
Bristol will go to the polls on November 15.
Comments
by green_man
Wednesday, October 10 2012, 5:11PM
“Interesting to note that all the main contenders for Mayor of Bristol have committed themselves to 'more people power'. I really do hope such a thing actually comes about. What I'd say to the three bigger parties, however, is: why have we had no significant and effective empowerment of people in Bristol if its really what you stand for? Consultations are often a sham, voters are disillusioned and opportunities for genuine, empowered participation are poor. I have little faith that the big parties really want to empower people and if they did they would empower people to be able to remove them between elections through a recall/petitioning mechanism. Political parties want power for political parties in my experience.”
by green_man
Wednesday, October 10 2012, 2:49PM
“@CllrJonRogers - The gini coefficient which is a measure of overall income inequality in the United Kingdom is now higher than at any previous time in the last thirty years. See http://tinyurl.com/2wtjwcb . The Coalition the Lib Dems are in will be cutting billions more from public spending, including spending on welfare for the poorest, in the coming years. See http://tinyurl.com/8qs5bat . You, as a Lib Dem Bristol City Council Cabinet member have made well over £20 million cuts in council spending per year, including to services for the vulnerable.... See http://tinyurl.com/9oopcvo . Can you explain how all this helps to create a more fair and equal society?”
by green_man
Wednesday, October 10 2012, 12:53PM
“@CllrJonRogers - The gini coefficient which is a measure of overall income inequality in the United Kingdom is now higher than at any previous time in the last thirty years. See http://tinyurl.com/8rrqhtf The Coalition the Lib Dems are in will be cutting billions more from public spending, including spending on welfare for the poorest, in the coming years. See http://tinyurl.com/9a935ju You, as a Lib Dem Bristol City Council Cabinet member have made well over £20 million cuts in council spending per year, including to services for the vulnerable.... See http://tinyurl.com/9qzmgfb Can you explain how all this helps to create a more fair and equal society?”
by harry12911
Wednesday, October 10 2012, 11:13AM
“Cllr Rogers - If your answer was given by a pupil to a teacher, I would expect the pupil to be swotted over the head. However, for a politician, its just par for the course to give such insulting, evasive answers.”
by CllrJonRogers
Wednesday, October 10 2012, 9:41AM
“@harry12911 I share your distaste for many of the Conservative policies, but I do believe that the Liberal Democrats nationally and locally are supporting "the poor, the disabled and the infirm".
Nationally, I think it unlikely that the Conservatives alone would have introduced the pupil premium, taken millions of low paid out of paying tax, protected pensions and increased stamp duty on expensive homes. Also look at our record on international aid, ending ID databases, ending child detention, etc, etc.
Locally we have made bigger cuts (up to 40%) from the bureaucracy of the council, and tried to protect voluntary and community sector organisations.
If the government abandoned their attempts to balance the books, interest rates would soar, and it would be the poorest and most vulnerable who would be hit hardest.
As Samuel Johnson said, "A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization".
We still have a way to go in the UK, but I do believe that the people of Bristol would welcome more fairness and less inequality.”
by bris_cit
Wednesday, October 10 2012, 9:19AM
“These people are completely out of touch with reality. Devolve more power downwards? Like the Neighbourhood Partnerships? In Stockwood people have spent two years not getting a little park bench installed through these committees.
http://tinyurl.com/8jjjclj
And the politicians want more of this?”
by GoveKnows
Wednesday, October 10 2012, 9:12AM
“Having seen him in the flesh and on campaign leaflets etc - is Marvin Rees a real person?
I genuinely think he's a robot.”
by harry12911
Wednesday, October 10 2012, 8:57AM
“So Cllr Rogers - if your aim is to reduce inequality, why at both national and local level are the Lib Dems cutting funding for the poor, the disabled and the infirm whilst dishing out millions of pounds to the banks and to private sector corporations (eg through the NHS privitisation or through perverse BRT type projects).
As with Marvin Rees, you seem happy to spin a "pro-people" message whilst your policies are anything but.”
by CllrJonRogers
Wednesday, October 10 2012, 8:36AM
“Oops!
That should be "reducing inequality" not "reducing diversity"!
It is the wide gap between the richest and the poorest in society that causes so many problems and even reduces life expectancy.
The problem is well documented in the book The Spirit Level by Prof Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. There is an excellent TED talk covering the topic http://tinyurl.com/5up6nca”