Candidates standing to be the next Mayor of Bristol have been issued with a ‘business challenge’ to ensure the voice of local firms remain central to the election campaign.
Bristol Chamber of Commerce & Initiative at Business West has produced the manifesto for the contenders in the race for City Hall ahead of polling day on May 6. 
It identifies eight key ‘challenges’ that the incoming mayor will need to address to spur economic recovery from Covid-19 and bring about long-term sustainable and inclusive business growth in the city.
The manifesto, the result of extensive consultation with Bristol’s business communities, calls on the mayor to take bold action on issues such as the climate crisis, the lack of affordable housing and transforming transport and digital connectivity over the next four years.
It also urges the successful candidate to continue to work in partnership with the city’s businesses and communities to develop joined-up solutions to shared problems.
Bristol Chamber of Commerce & Initiative at Business West chief executive James Durie, pictured, said: “Those of us who live and work here know that Bristol is special.
“A city whose people are innovative, creative, energetic, ambitious but also unorthodox.
“We went into the Covid-19 crisis in an economically strong position, having performed well on many measures of business and economic health over the last decades. 
“Bristolians are resilient and adaptable, but this last year has tested and challenged them like no other.”
He said people and businesses chose to base themselves in the city because it was a great place to live, work and visit.
“But we are also a city scarred by deep inequalities,” he added. “Too many of our citizens are excluded from participating in the wealth our city creates, and disparities in health, education and housing damage lives and damages the shared prosperity of the city.
“The importance of social cohesion cannot be overstated, nor can the reputational damage for the whole city where disorder is seen in national and international media coverage.
“We urge the successful mayoral candidate, working closely with the police and city partners, to ensure protests remain peaceful and the safety of residents and visitors to our city is secured.”
The mayoral election will set the city’s objectives for the next four years, during which it will face very significant challenges that have shifted priorities at a local and national level.
As a result, strong engagement and working with the business community was vital to enable the private sector to deliver sustainable and inclusive economic growth, which would benefit the whole community and begin to de-carbonise how we live and work.
“The elected Mayor of Bristol is a key position within the city, and we need the candidate elected to work with business to help it address the challenge it faces,” said Mr Durie.
“Mayoral candidates will need to set out their long-term vision of the future of the city and how they will champion it, both within the UK and overseas.
“We look forward to working with whoever is elected to continue to strongly support the region’s enterprising firms as we recover from the effects of the pandemic.”
To view the manifesto in full visit: https://www.businesswest.co.uk/resources/elected-mayor-bristol-business-challenge-candidates
For a full list of all candidates in the mayoral election, click here
