Your say / Politics
‘Labour scrapping the committee system is an insult to Bristol’
In 2012, Bristol democratically rejected the leader and cabinet model and in 2022 chose the committee system in a citywide referendum; a system which Greens backed for more transparent and more collaborative decision-making.
The government announcement to scrap the committee system ignores these decisions and will change Bristol’s governance structure for the third time in 13 years without consulting local authorities.
This is totally at odds with the devolved powers that Labour advocate for and is an insult to Bristol.
is needed now More than ever
Keir Starmer clearly does not think that local people can make the best choices for themselves.
Most importantly, this will not solve the big problems we face. Greens have been asking successive governments for years for proper funding to address the many crises in local government.
Labour promised change but they have no answers when it comes to the real issues local authorities and residents face: crisis in the private rental sector, SEND provision, increasing demand for adult social care and meeting net zero commitments.
All the while they are attempting to squash a rebellion of their own Labour MPs so they can plunge hundreds of thousands into poverty by slashing their benefits.
This Labour government has no plan to improve the lives of working people in Bristol, who will be rightly outraged with them once again meddling with local democratic decisions while providing no respite from 15 years of austerity.
We need proper investment in communities, funded by a tax on the ultra-rich, or this government will feel the consequences at the next election.
This is an opinion piece by Heather Mack, deputy leader of Bristol City Council
Main photo: Green Party
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