You Decide: How Will We Run the City?

Bristol will go to the polls on Thursday 5 May to decide whether to keep our city mayoral system, or move to a committee-based system where key decisions are made by multiple groups of councillors, rather than a single elected leader.

This vote will decide who makes key decisions in the city, and how. It’s about who has power and influence, how decision makers collaborate, and what political system is best for tackling big issues in the city such as transport and social care. Who will represent Bristol at a national level? How will we make sure councillors have a meaningful voice in city hall when no party has an outright majority?

Eastside Community Trust, the Bristol Cable and Bristol Ideas are creating a space for people to come together, ask questions about how the referendum result will impact our lives in the city, and debate the wider issues at stake.

Join the panel – Cllr Carla Denyer, Cllr Marley Bennett, Stephen Williams and Emma Harvey – to debate the issues. Chaired by Pat Hart, with an introduction to the two systems by the Bristol Civic Leadership Research Project.

Bristol Debates: Referendum 2022 is an impartial project. Bristol Ideas is commissioning and publishing articles and interviews, and providing information on the referendum and the different models being debated, as well as the challenges the city faces, the opportunities ahead, and how best to meet these. Find out more here.

Booking Information

Ticket booking is via Eventbrite. Please review Eventbrite’s terms and conditions and Privacy Policy as Bristol Ideas do not accept any responsibility or liability for the policies. You can read Bristol Ideas’ Privacy policy here.

Please note we only refund tickets if the event is cancelled. Events start punctually and, out of consideration to other audience members and speakers, our policy is not to admit or issue refunds to latecomers. Full Terms and Conditions here.

Tickets are free but need to be booked via Eventbrite. Tickeing is managed by Eastside Community Trust. Please check their terms and conditions and privacy policy when booking as Bristol Ideas do not accept any responsibility or liability for their policies. Please contact Eastside Community Trust on 0117 9541 409 with any queries.