Flying round the globe while Bristol crumbles

While the structural safety crisis at Barton House (a social housing block in the east of Bristol) was breaking out, the mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, was attending the Commonwealth Local Government conference that was taking place in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. At the time, he claimed that he was 'leading' on the crisis all the way from Kigali: Rees in Rwanda: ‘I’m leading’ - Martin Booth | B24/7 | 15.11.23. Needless to say, there are plenty of people in Bristol questioning the effectiveness of that 'leadership'! At the time, we raised some more general concerns about the way Bristol City Council are all too often, getting their priorities wrong: A council getting their priorities totally wrong... 17.11.23. This is how we concluded that piece:

So, when there are prestigious, showcase buildings to refurbish or conferences across the globe to attend, the money always seems to be there on tap, no questions asked. However, when it comes to getting the basics of the job right, such as ensuring that the city's social housing stock is safe to live in, these always seem to get pushed right down the priority order. This is a city administration whose priorities are completely skewed in the wrong direction. This has to radically change, the sooner the better...

Well, 'air miles' Rees is off on yet another globe-trotting jaunt, this time flying to Dubai to talk about climate change: Bristol mayor Marvin Rees explains decision to attend COP28 in Dubai three weeks after summit in Rwanda - Tristan Cork | Bristol Post | 22.11.23. After jetting off to Kigali and then Dubai, will Rees be lecturing us mere plebs on the need to reduce our carbon footprint? If he does, we suspect that he will be getting his arse kicked, deservedly so in our opinion.

Come the local elections in May 2024, Rees will end his term as the mayor of Bristol. There will not be a replacement. That's because the residents of Bristol voted in a referendum to terminate that role, with the affairs of the city being run by a council leader and a system of committees instead: Bristol mayor vote: City decides to abolish mayor post - BBC | 6.5.22. The general consensus is that the citizens of Bristol, pissed off with the grandstanding Rees was engaging in while the city continued to crumble, concluded that the role of mayor was detrimental to its welfare. Despite the vote to terminate the role of the mayor, Rees appears determined to keep up the globe-trotting and grandstanding to the bitter end. Now why would that be?

Rees is a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF). People can be forgiven for thinking that the amount of air miles he's currently racking up are as much, if not more, about boosting his career prospects with the WEF as they are about 'promoting' Bristol. This is what he had to say to justify his flying in a jet all the way to Dubai to talk about climate change:

“Bristol lives are global lives, remember. What’s happening out there is not some foreign issue, it’s right here, right now. Bristol’s not a parish council, it’s a big city, it’s a core city.”

“I think this will be one of the biggest challenges transitioning to a committee system. How do we continue to function with a political leadership that recognises that we are actually a global city?”

For all of the bullshit Rees and his cronies come out with, the harsh truth is that there's a fair bit about Bristol that's dysfunctional and needs addressing urgently. Or to put it more bluntly, the city is broken and needs fixing, fast! The way Barton House has been neglected over the decades is one example of how things are broken: ‘Failures at every level of government’ led to Barton House crisis - Ellie Pipe | B24/7 | 22.11.23. Another example is the lack of a decent mass transit system, the development and implementation of which has at least in part been delayed by the bickering between Rees, his counterparts in the West of England Combined Authority and the regional metro mayor, Dan Norris: The elusive dream of a mass transit system for Bristol and beyond... 12.11.23.

Walking round Bristol requires a decent pair of walking boots - nothing less will do!

On a more prosaic but definitely noticeable level, there's the state of the pavements and the roads. It's all very well for Rees to jet off around the globe to 'sell' Bristol but, exactly what is it he's trying to sell? Being brutally honest, the bullshit he comes out with does not match the grittier reality on the ground of a city that feels like it's crumbling to pieces. Bristol City Council can bang on all they want about promoting so called 'active travel' but, when they can't deliver the infrastructure that would encourage people to take that up, they need to be called out, which is exactly what we did here: Are Bristol City Council and Sustrans taking the piss? 27.6.23.

This initiative is a gimmick, pure and simple. If Bristol City Council are genuinely serious about encouraging more people to walk and cycle, they need to dip their hands in their pockets and spend some serious money on making sure that walking and cycling around Bristol are attractive and safe options. A combination of broken, uneven pavements, pedestrian subways that flood after heavy rain and potholed roads, mean that walking and cycling around the city are unattractive and often, unsafe options.

The gap between the gritty reality of life in Bristol where it feels like the place is crumbling away and nothing works as it should on the one hand, and on the other, the hot air Rees spouts as he jets off to conferences around the world is so vast, you can't see one side from the other. The people of Bristol by and large aren't interested in any grand vision for the future, all they want is a city that works and is a decent place to live. In other words, they want Bristol City Council to get the basics of their job right without the dramas they're getting now. In other words, what they want is less spin and more delivery.