Recently-elected Bristol Mayor George Ferguson made the case for further devolved powers to the city when he held talks with ministers in Westminster yesterday – his first meeting with Government since his election nearly two weeks ago.
In a series of meetings the Mayor met the financial secretary to the Treasury and cities mi
nister Greg Clark and local government minister Brandon Lewis.
Mr Ferguson, pictured, said before setting off to London: “I am determined to take bold decisions for Bristol but we need the same determination and commitment from Government to devolve powers from the centre.
“I shall make the case strongly to ministers that Bristol is ready to be a test-bed for radical ideas. We need to look at models of social finance and bonds to drive city investment in infrastructure, and we must look at ways we cut regulation to boost local enterprise and entrepreneurship.
“My message to ministers is simple. Bristol is the most successful city economy outside London, and we can help drive growth if we are given the powers to invest and innovate.
“The City Deal negotiated this year is a good start which we need to build on and I want to kick-start talks immediately on a Mayoral Deal."
The meetings were the first of an on-going dialogue between Mr Ferguson and ministers over the next few months.
