Mayoral election (2)

    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 1^st while several others ran as independents.

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.

Mayoral election husting organised by the
 Construction Industry Council, Nov 9, 2012

    Three others, George Ferguson of Bristol 1^st, 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.