Bristol Chamber of Commerce and Initiative opposes council motion which could trigger scrapping of Directly Elected Mayor model

Bristol’s top business leadership organisation is opposing a council motion which could lead to the scrapping of the city’s elected Mayor.

At next Tuesday’s full Bristol City Council meeting a motion will be heard which could trigger a referendum as to whether Bristol retains an elected Mayor or moves back to a committee and leader system.

Bristol Chamber of Commerce and Initiative, part of Business West has written to all city councillors saying a referendum will be a “distraction”.

They say that next week’s motion should be rejected in favour of a commitment to improve the current Directly Elected Mayor (DEM) model which was chosen by the people of Bristol in the 2012 referendum.

“We believe in a strong and inclusive economy for Bristol”, said Jaya Chakrabarti, President of Bristol Chamber of Commerce and Initiative, one of the signatories of the letter to councillors.  

She commented: “We want the city to build on the current Directly Elected Mayor model and encourage debate around it.”

James Durie, Chief Executive of Bristol Chamber of Commerce and Initiative said:

”In 2012, we supported the Elected Mayor for Bristol referendum “Yes” campaign as we believed that a directly elected Mayor would improve decision making in the city, strengthen Bristol and help deliver long term prosperity which is essential for jobs and services and the continued sustainable growth of the city”.

He commented: “As the lead representatives of business and employers in the city and wider region, we have a major stake and want and need to see a strong and effective system of local government which is best able to serve all our communities.

“So many of the things the council has responsibility for require a long-term consistent approach such as transport or land use planning.

“Our experience has shown us that the system of local government in 2012 - being often short-term in outlook and delivery - was holding the city back. We believed then, and continue to believe now, that stable leadership, which brings the city together, is essential. 

“We do not want to see a reverse back to the sort of flip-flopping between different parties in and out of power together with a seemingly continual cycle of local elections into the council chamber.”

Jaya Chakrabarti added:

“The far too regular changes of city leadership in the years which led up to the referendum made it impossible for Bristol to have stability and consistency for long-term thinking and improved decision-making. It also made the case harder for investment to be made in the city whether by national government or private.

“Bristol Chamber of Commerce and Initiative continues to be supporters of the Directly Elected Mayoral model and want to see this strengthened.

“And so, at a time when other places are moving to adopt the elected mayoral model and business and employers are having to focus on such issues as the impact of inflation, Brexit, recovering from the pandemic, skills, supply chain shortages and decarbonisation, we consider a referendum is a distraction and urge the councillors to reject the motion in favour of a commitment by all to improve the Directly Elected Mayor model.”