Q&A with Independent West of England Mayoral Combined Authority Metro Mayor candidate Ian Scott
What do you think a Metro Mayor’s role should be?
It is to bring the West of England together to present clear local visions to local people, the Government and International Investors. It can do this by listening to local residents, Councils, businesses, public sector bodies and voluntary groups to come up with proposals that the majority of West of England Combined Authority (WECA) members can vote and agree on.
Whilst the Metro Mayor will have a democratic mandate from the public, decisions will be made by WECA members and the Metro Mayor and not the Metro Mayor alone. Therefore, the role involves being a leading chair of a board which makes decision by consensus where possible and majority vote when not possible. It is important to point this out because currently this has not been happening and is the reason why the West of England has been in special measures.
The Metro Mayor also needs to speak truth to power, both nationally to the government and locally. For example, over 6,000 petitioners from Redfield and Barton Hill have been ignored locally due to Green Party policy dogma attacking car drivers, which impacts some of the poorest residents in the UK, instead of working with residents to make sensible improvements that reduce pollution. Yet they are supported by the community and do not have 6,000 objectors.
What would be your top priorities for your first year in office?
We need to work with North Somerset where the only airport and royal portbury docks are economic generators for the West of England. The gateway to the world!
The Labour Government blocked North Somerset which illustrated economic incompetence.
The West of England is a net contributor to the British economy, but is not in the first tranche of integrated funding like West Yorkshire is! [Government White Paper, 16th December 2024]
West Yorkshire or West of England?
West of England voters will choose the West of England to ensure we get a fair share of our net contributions back to enable us to fund local services to boost economic growth.
Winning as an independent, like Sue Mountstevens did twice previously, will send a warning to the government that if you do not give us our money back as we deserve, the public will vote against your MPs next at the next general election - so there is every incentive to treat the West of England fairly.
We are the biggest conurbation in Western Europe without a mass transit system but we need government money to address it and be effective. If it is good enough for Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield, then it is good enough for us. We are the home of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Sir George White, who developed mass transit systems over 100 years ago and could build under the Downs - so why can we not do it now with modern technology that they could only dream of?
How do you plan to collaborate with the business community to ensure policies meet regional needs?
I will meet the business community and other communities of interest and geography to ensure that I listen before making proposals to the other members of the West of England. I co-ordinated scrutiny projects, similar to parliamentary select committees, for 10 years in Bristol and we had more co-optees from communities of interest than any other local authority so that policies were based on a wide range of views from both outside the Council and within the Council. The recommendations were supported by all political groups on scrutiny achieving cross party consensus so I know it can be done and I would like to replicate this sort of wider collaboration at WECA to ensure that policies meet sub regional West of England needs. I also served on the West of England European Structure Investment Fund for 3 years which the local business community also sat on.
How would you raise our region’s profile with government and the private sector to secure the investment that we need?
The joke in Bristol was always that Bristol thrives, in spite of the council and not because of it. I have lived in Filton since 1988 for over 30 years, where Sir George White started the tram and aeroplane industry, and Filton remains the British hub of the aerospace industry, the MOD and the Arena and has one of the largest housing developments planned in Western Europe. This illustrates the importance of International, European and National investment in new technology.
We need clearer visions that have sufficient local support but WE also need to speak truth to power. I am not going to politely ask for "more please" like Oliver, I am going to demand the funding that we deserve as a net contributor to the British economy, and the government will agree to our demands or face the consequences at the Ballot Box where it will hurt them most.
A Conservative metro mayor with a Conservative government and a Labour metro mayor with a Labour government has resulted in the West of England being in special measures.
We all deserve better. Sue Mountstevens proved that voters are fed us with political parties and are prepared to put their trust in a local independent who can speak truth to power.
Why are you best placed to be Metro Mayor?
- I am the most experienced candidate in the West of England metro mayor election by far.
- Public service for over 40 years
- Current South Gloucestershire councillor - 10 years
- Chaired South Gloucestershire Council health scrutiny
- Filton councillor - 15 years
- School governor - 12 years - primary and secondary
- West of England - European Structure Investment Fund member - 3 years
- Avon Fire Authority member - 4 years
- Bristol University Court member - 5 years
- GFA Football Association committee member - 2 years
- Southwest Councils - BTEC Local Governance Level 4 – Assessor
- Over 40 years work experience
- Post Office 19 years+ (from the age of 16)
- South Gloucestershire Council and Bristol Council 11 years+
- Education Trade Union regional officer 14 years+
Thank you for your time and consideration.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this guest blog are those of the author. Business West is an apolitical organisation and does not endorse any statements provided in this guest blog.