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Ferguson defends new council magazine
City mayor George Ferguson has been questioned over a £34,000 council magazine produced with less than a year to go before the election.
The Our City freesheet highlights the work that the council are doing and acts as a “consultation” on public matters, Mr Ferguson said.
A similar publication was scrapped in 2011 to save money. Ferguson denied there was a link between the new freesheet and next year’s election.
He said on BBC Radio Bristol: “I don’t write it. I write the introduction. I’m sure, absolutely sure, that some people will see it as that but I am addressing it to the people not the politicians.”
He said the magazine was “extremely good value” and claimed it would save money in the long run as it would inform the public about consultations.
He added that the one-off 20-page magazine would not be produced “monthly or bi-monthly like the previous one”.
The magazine has been paid for in part by a supplement from Bristol 2015, the company set up to run the Green Capital programme, making the net cost to the council £25,000.
The publication is being delivered to residents from Monday.
Former communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles promised to close council newspapers last year. He said: “Town hall Pravdas not only waste taxpayers’ money unnecessarily, they undermine free speech.”
Bristol24/7 readers have been critical of the council’s new magazine. Dave Sansom said on Facebook: “You know it’s probably the wrong thing to do when you have to defend it before the first copy is even delivered.”
Emma Wood said: “What a waste of money that could have gone towards the people of Bristol. I would rather money went on feeding the poor or homeless than a magazine.”
But Judith Brown, from Bristol Older People’s Forum, defended the magazine on the BBC, saying it provided useful updates for people who don’t use the internet.
Read more about the two Labour challengers vying to face Ferguson in next year’s election.
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