Citizens for Culture Cultural Plan handed over to WECA at Watershed yesterday. The value will only land if recommendations translate into visible decisions and delivery with accountability baked into existing governance.
My reflections here: delegatesandtrustees.wordpress.com/2026/01/16/f...
Spoke with John Darvall on BBC Radio Bristol about the politics of flags - how symbols of unity can become signs of division, and what this says about belonging, identity, and protest in Britain today.
🎧 Starts 10:50
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
#Politics #Identity #BBCBristol #Belonging
Honoured to join panel at Forwards Festival on Citizens’ Assemblies with LaToyah McAllister-Jones, Ruby Sant, Saad Eddine Said & Jemma Forte
Discussing progress of #CitizensforCulture ahead of 1st assembly, showcasing politics done differently through participation, deliberation & shared ownership
Back on BBC Radio Bristol with John Darvall discussing Reform UK’s immigration plans 🎙️ Key point: much political noise, few solutions, failures of politics & process. Real reform = fair & fast decisions, clear legal routes, & tackling system backlogs. Listen (52:58): www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
📑 the essay from Emeritus Professors Colin Copus and Steve Leach can be found here 👉 localis.org.uk/publications...
You can register for the webinar here: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/92e053... The report will be published shortly after the event.
Tomorrow Ill be alongside some great speakers at this webinar convened by @localis.bsky.social . The online webinar is based on an excellent new report from Professors Colin Copus and Steve Leach who pose some significant challenges and concerns for the New Local Government White Paper
Even before todays news questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-stat..., the plan was being readied for BCLP 2026, to evaluate Bristol's experience of the Committee model.
Plus should the legislation pass, there will be another BCLP iteration to evaluate the return of Leader and Cabinet model
The team also produced associated briefing videos with the excellent team from @beestonmedia.bsky.social www.bristol247.com/news-and-fea...
So in 2022 to fill the gap the BCLP team wrote and published the briefing report 'The Bristol Referendum Thinking Through the Options' bristolcivicleadership.net/wp-content/u...
In 2022 as Bristol was posed the question of further governance change to the Committee System, the BCLP team and Bristol Ideas noted a significant lack of mainstream balanced evidenced or structured discussion on the choice at hand.
But concerns remained: power was seen as too concentrated in one office, councillor scrutiny significantly weakened, and public trust & participatory pathways were still lagging
The 2002 Made a difference report found Bristol’s mayoral model dramatically raised the city’s profile, visibility jumping from 24% in 2012 to 51% in 2018 and delivered a clear long‑term vision (e.g., the One City Plan) and stronger global representation 🚀
In 2020 with the mayoral model embedded, the BCLP conducted a second evaluation and published 'Mayoral Governance in Bristol has it made a difference?' www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...
As metro mayors emerged the BCLP answer the question 'What can we expect from a Metro Mayor?' bristolcivicleadership.net/wp-content/u... MM bring clear regional leadership, devolved powers & long-term vision, but risk personality politics, limited scrutiny & constrained autonomy under central govt.
2015, 1st evaluation of Mayoral Model 'Impacts of Mayoral Governance in Bristol' bristolcivicleadership.net/wp-content/u... DEM gave visible, accountable leadership, boosted Bristol’s civic profile & clear decision‑making but concerns linger over centralised power, inclusivity & scrutiny deficits
In 2014 a short policy brief considered the Introduction of the Mayoral Model www.bristol.ac.uk/policybristo.... The brief highlighted a DEM boosts visible, legitimate city leadership and encourages innovation but trust, representation & public “routes‑in” still need strengthening.
The first report ‘The Prospects for Mayoral Governance’ came out in 2013. t.co/Isp56eBdRzm it found optimism for a Directly Elected Mayor, stronger visibility, streamlined decisions & potential public service gains but warned of concerns for low turnout, weak scrutiny & need for inclusive engagement
The Bristol Civic Leadership Project bristolcivicleadership.net has run since 2012, and has looked at the different iterations of local governance change and design in Bristol and the implications and experiences of these changes for democracy, structures and policy.
A collaboration between @uwebristolofficial.bsky.social and @bristoluni.bsky.social the project has benefitted from the experience, ideas and insights of a number of academic researchers more details of the team here: t.co/I78KLILXgr
It keeps Bristol as very much the governance experiment, being able to do little more than cope with, and adapt to change, from without and from within.
This is the story, so far, told through the outputs of the Bristol Civic Leadership Project
The government decision doesn’t come as a surprise. The desire of the centre to simplify governance options, combined with the consistently mooted logics of the benefits of executive models of governance in terms of visibility, accountability and centre to local ‘engagability’ remain
Just as we were planning the Bristol Civic Leadership Project 2026 to look at experiences of Committee Governance in Bristol, we’ll have to also consider the next iteration 2 years back into Leader and Cabinet model. The BLCP has been alongside the waves of governance change which started in 2013. 🧵
Lot of people asking what impact Reform running councils will have on their popularity. There are reasons to think it won't be smooth sailing. A lot of political novices taking over in challenging circs, and in the past Farage party councillors have often split or left in large numbers
Piece for @bristol247.bsky.social around the positive outcomes and some of the potential issues emerging from the WECA election result www.bristol247.com/opinion/your...
Happy to find time to speak with John Darvall at BBC Radio Bristol about the WECA Mayoral Election result, including what it might mean for the regions politics, the rise of Reform UK, and the perennial challenge of low turnout. You can listen back from 09:57 here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Up early this morning at 7:30am to speak with Charlie Taylor on the BBC Radio Bristol Breakfast show, offering a bit of early analysis of the WECA mayoral election. You can listen back via BBC Sounds from 1:37:57 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
As much as I'm willing to make an electoral prediction, I think it will be (differential) turnout, not tactics which ultimately decide the outcome of the WECA Mayoral vote www.bristol247.com/opinion/your... (Here is my new piece for @bristol247.bsky.social)
If you're from Bristol or beyond, this zoom talk on 'Bristol's Cultural Renaissance' by @andrewkelly.bsky.social is worth checking out. Its taking place online next Wednesday evening. Sign up for a link: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
