News / Politics
Rees won’t say his piece
Marvin Rees is still standing firm on his decision to keep his views on the Labour leadership contest to himself.
Ballots are being sent out to around 640,000 Labour members who are eligible to vote, with Jeremy Corbyn facing opposition from Owen Smith.
Bristol’s mayor remains tight-lipped on who will get his cross on the ballot paper, despite London mayor Sadiq Khan and Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale both coming out in the last two days with their support for Smith.
Corbyn campaigned with Rees several times in the run-up to May’s mayoral elections and helped the mayor celebrate in Bristol after his win, but Rees has opted to remain silent about his views on the upcoming contest
Rees has claimed that while he would love to speak out, it would undermine his position as the mayor of Bristol.
In a recent interview with Bristol24/7, Rees said that he needs to focus on areas such as housing, mental health and public transport, rather than bringing the current debate to Bristol.
He said: “I’m not sharing my stand, my priority is that Jeremy is well and that the party survives to be a strong political voice up in Westminster.
“But I’ll communicate privately, but I think my judgement is that as mayor of Bristol it will not serve me in my ability to get things done for the people of Bristol, to take a part, to fuel that contest that’s going on and bring it to Bristol.”
He added: “I’ve known Jeremy for years now, he’s a good man, he’s authentic, he’s 100 per cent and I want him to be well, but I want the party to be well too.”
Bristol24/7 attempted to ask Rees for comment on Monday but he was unavailable.
The results of the leadership contest are set to be announced on September 24.
Read more: Marvin Rees: 100 days in office
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