An Elected Mayor for Bristol

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A Business Challenge to the new mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson

Bristol voters went to the polls on 15th November to decide who they wanted as their first elected mayor. Despite all the media coverage and extensive campaigning by the main candidates only 28% of the population bothered to vote.The first round of counting didn’t produce a clear winner but did put George Ferguson in a strong position with around 5,500 votes more than the second place candidate, Marvin Rees. At this point the second preference votes came into play, with the final result confirming George as the clear winner.

Full results for all candidates can be found on the council website

The business community in Bristol has strong views about the future of the city and the role of the newly elected mayor. Business is interesetd in the economic growth of the city region and is keen to play its part in supporting growth and ensuring Bristol remains a properous and vibrant city, at the same time helping to eradicate the disparities that exist in our communities in terms of opportunity and poverty. With the right leadership and business working alongside the mayor and the Local Enterprise Partnership, in real partnership, we can deliver this together.

We have been working with the business community in Bristol to identify a set of priorities that business would like the newly elected mayor for Bristol to consider. Evidence has been collected over a number of years, initially through business engagement in the Bristol 2050 vision proces, and more recently since May through surveys, campaigns and discussions involving businesses across the city region.

This information has been collated and brought together in the ' Business Challenge ' document as a challenge to the mayoral candidates, to see how their manifestos and priorities measure up to business issues. It will be used as a platform for discussion with the successful candidates post November 15th when we will be knocking on the door of the new mayor's office to see how barriers to business growth will be addressed and to offer the support of the business community in raising the profile of the city both nationally and internationally.

Read the ' Business Challenge ' document and tell us your views.

What are your thoughts on the 'Business Challenge'? 

What would your top 3 priorities be for the new mayor to address?

1. Emailing us: tessa.coombes@businesswest.co.uk 
2. Complete our survey
3. Or leave your comments below!

Survey Results to Date

To date our survey of top businesses and stakeholders in Bristol, about the role of an elected mayor, has shown that:-

93% think the mayor should focus on managing and promoting the city rather than the council.

64% think the mayor should lead the city region, not just be confined to working within the city boundaries.

The top three priorities to emerge so far are:-

• Attracting Jobs and Investment
• Transport
• Education