There were altogether 15 candidates in the contest. Quite a big number
for a ballot of this scale, isn’t it? Each of the three major national
political parties fielded its own candidate, with the Respect Party, the Green
Party and the Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition joining. One candidate
ran under the local banner of Bristol 1st while several others ran
as independents.
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| Mayoral election husting organised by the Bristol University Student Union, Nov 2, 2012 |
I attended two of the hustings (That’s how the people here call election
gatherings), one held on our campus organized by the university student union
and the other by a construction industry association. According to local news
reports at least a dozen of hustings held for this mayoral election, one of
them joined by Cameron to support the Tory candidate, but not every debate was
open to the public and I didn’t get information about all of them.
One thing which surprised me a bit was that traffic congestion was the
most frequently raised issue at both of the occasions. Many of the contenders
took initiative to talk about their solutions to the traffic problems in the
city in their opening remarks, while some members of the audience also raised
concern over this. I was really surprised because having moved here for two
months I had never seen any traffic jam at all! My impression can be quite unfair
because where I live is within walking distance to both the university and the
city centre but just the fact that I had never seen vehicles in a long line
while I cross the roads made it difficult for me to imagine any traffic jam
here. (Not long after the election day I experienced a little congestion on the
road but apparently it was due to some works.)
The questions raised from the floor at both debates were quite wide ranging.
I was indeed impressed by the student union’s one. Although it was a local
poll, a student took the discussion to the international level by testing
candidates’ on their views on arms trade from Bristol to countries including
Syria and Israel. Labour Marvin Rees, Conservative Geoff Gollop, independent
Owain George all gave “unpopular” answers that these arms related industries
have brought many jobs to Bristol and the where arms products were sold to
after they were manufactured was a national policy and not something the mayor
had power to control. Another candidate (I couldn’t see who it was) went even franker
by saying that “If we don’t make it somebody else is going to make it” so it
would not worth giving up the industry and losing these jobs in Bristol. Lib
Dem Jon Rogers appeared to be trying to please both sides, saying this issue
was a dilemma.
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| Mayoral election husting organised by the Construction Industry Council, Nov 9, 2012 |
Three
others, George Ferguson of Bristol 1st, Neil Maggs of Respect and
Tim Collins of Save Filton Runway claimed the moral highland, all condemning
the arms trade. Mr. Ferguson, the ultimate winner, gave a good sound bite, “Stop
relying on a killing economy and turn into a knowledge economy!” He also scored
points by recommending the book The Shocking History of Bristol – showing his
local passion and knowledge. I found him and Mr Maggs the two most eloquent speakers
at this husting. The latter conveyed a clear anti-privatisation message in his
answer to every question and was good at appealing to the audience – He slammed
the outsourcing of university dormitories to the Unite company which made students
(i.e. us!) pay high rents.
Another challenge from a student was the controversial question of
whether the red light venues in Bristol should be shut down. Most of them on
the stage, including the future mayor, gave a definite “yes” while only two,
Mr. Collins and Mr. George said no. It was quite disappointing that the Tory candidate
failed to give a position. It did not seem that he was well prepared. Given the
toughness of the battle for him – his Labour opponent was tipped as the
frontrunner, the city council was dominated by Lib Dems, and Bristol had a
strong local identity, I think it would be wise for him to clear his stance on
every issue of concern in the
constituency.
