Business leaders in Bristol are urging Bristol City Council to reject a motion that could lead to the scrapping of the city’s elected mayor.
On Tuesday (December 7) the local authority will hear a motion at its full meeting which could trigger a referendum on whether Bristol retains a mayor or moves back to a committee and leader system.
The directly elected mayor (DEM) model was chosen by the people of Bristol in a 2012 referendum and means the leader of the city is voted for every four years.
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South West chamber of commerce Business West said “strengthening” the current model would improve decision making in Bristol, while a referendum would be a “distraction”.
In a letter sent to councillors ahead of the meeting next week, Business West said: “We want to see a strong and effective system of local government which is best able to serve all our communities.
"We need to ensure that there is consistency of leadership over each four-year period so that critical issues of, for example, transport and land use planning can be agreed and delivered.”
The letter was signed by Jaya Chakrabarti, president of Business West; James Durie, its chief executive; and chairman John Savage.
Business West said it believed it shared “legitimate concerns” that the role of councillors in decision making had been “restricted” and that the expansive remit of the mayor risked “overloading one individual”.
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The organisation also noted “other issues”, including the role of councillors within the wider West of England Combined Authority (Weca).
“As national government shifts more funding into regional authorities, we need to make sure that the leadership in the city is right to work in the context of WECA, too,” Business West wrote.
The organisation said the five changes of leadership at Bristol City Council in the seven years before the 2012 referendum “made stability and consistency impossible” for decision-making, and “the case harder” for investment to be made in the city.
“We believe that we can find the right way to balance leadership, accountability, and a renewed role for councillors, amongst others, to help the city move forward,” Business West wrote.
“In the meantime, we feel that a referendum will be a distraction and urge that the motion be rejected in favour of a commitment by all to improve the DEM model.”
Bristol City Council declined to comment ahead of the meeting. The mayor's office has been contacted for a statement.
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