Following last week’s announcement that 41,032 people have voted in favour of a city mayor election, Phil Cotton, south regional chairman of KPMG comments on his optimism for what a directly elected mayor could potentially offer Bristol.
He says: “Local government stands to benefit from a series of performance improvements from strong leadership and this, for me, is the issue at the heart of the difference that a city mayor could make for Bristol.
“The scale of the challenge in local government requires it to work differently to what has gone before. The strong democratic mandate, broader multi-faceted remit and personal accountability of a directly elected city mayor could prove to be a valuable force for effecting desired social change and economic growth.
“The more granular performance improvements that the vision, clarity and visibility of a single point of leadership and authority may better be able to positively influence include organisational criteria such as the motivation and productivity of Bristol’s public sector workforce. Also, different parts of the public sector, such as health and social care, could be brought together to better meet the needs of the most vulnerable in the community.
“More outward facing factors such as enhancing the working relationship between the public and private sectors, more effective championing of the city on the world stage to boost its profile in the global marketplace and the brokering of deals in this environment, could also result from mayoral city leadership.
“Of course, much depends on the remit – to be agreed with Whitehall – and individual ability of the mayor but the source of stability, continuity, authority and inspiration offered by the directly elected mayoral governance model holds promise as a way for the local government of Bristol to address its key priorities.”
