I want to talk about how we can scrutinise grants in local authorities, and I’ll start by providing an example from Bristol. Under Marvin Rees, mayor of Bristol, eight council grant funds were combined to create the Bristol Impact Fund (BIF). This was supposedly part of a new strategic approach…

I’ve been exploring ways to use ChatGPT for various applications recently. There’s already been a lot of talk about how it helps write emails, create summaries for documents and even write the code for website. I’ve actually used it for all of these. One of the new ways I’ve been…

I came across an interesting snippet of Alastair Campbell’s and Rory Stewart’s podcast The Rest is Politics recently. On the 17 November episode, they briefly explained why they don’t talk more about local politics and then lamented the loss of Marvin Rees as mayor of Bristol. ‎The Rest Is Politics on Apple Podcasts Two men who've been at the heart of the political world - former Downing Street Director of Communications and Strategy…podcasts.apple.com

The mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, has added another job to his register of interests: “An honorarium from 17 Rooms (Center for Sustainable Development at The Brookings Institution and The Rockefeller Foundation)”. An honorarium is effectively payment for services for which fees are not traditionally required. …

In Bristol’s city centre, the businesses have been paying Avon and Somerset Police for access to their own police officers. PCSO Nathaniel Naylor joined the City Centre Neighbourhood Team with over 5 years of experience in the industry. …

I could easily have started this piece by quoting Mick Lynch, the tour de force through our media over the last few days. He exemplifies all I’m about to say (see the end of this piece). However, I feel there is a truth in fiction and culture that speaks to…

The mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, has taken on a third extra job in addition to being mayor, since taking office in 2016 and being re-elected in 2021. His latest role is as chair of Core Cities UK; a local government lobbying group hosted by Manchester City Council. This role…

The phrase “housing crisis” has become the default way we approach housing these days, and not just in Bristol. The Bristol Post even have a ‘housing crisis’ news tag, which you can scroll through at your leisure. The Bristol City Council housing waiting list is over 16,000, according to the…

We the undersigned call to scrap Bristol City Council’s proposed budget cuts. Bristol City Council’s proposed budget cuts include more than £11 million cuts to adult social care[1]. The council explain that the cuts are necessary to meet an overall budgetary shortfall of £19.5 million. In an online announcement on…