The Bristol mayor has said standing for a seat in parliament “won’t take away from the day job” of running the city. Marvin Rees is campaigning to be selected as Labour ’s candidate for the new Bristol North East seat in a general election expected in autumn next year.
Mr Rees will be responsible for running Bristol City Council, as the directly elected mayor, until May next year when his second term ends. Standing for parliament is widely considered to be hugely time-consuming, raising questions about where the mayor will focus his efforts.
During a full council meeting on Tuesday, July 11, he said he was “still putting in the hours” in City Hall, despite ramping up campaigning to become an MP. The mayor now has to convince hundreds of local Labour party members to select him as their candidate.
Read more: How the race to be Labour candidate in new Bristol constituency is hotting up
Mr Rees said: “I’m connected to Bristol, I was born and raised here and this is my family’s home. It’s no secret I’m going through selection for Bristol North East seat at this time, but that will not take me away from my day job.
“I’m still putting the hours in preparing for this winter’s cost of living crisis, driving housing delivery, leading the Temple Quarter regeneration and all the other work we have to do. You won’t see me looking for a winnable seat in London, Plymouth, Manchester or elsewhere.
“Bristol is it for me. I will continue to work to deliver for the next 10 months and whatever I can do after those 10 months to support Bristol, I will.”
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The new Bristol North East constituency was recently created after a boundary review. The next election will be the first time the seat has been contested, although it’s expected to be a safe Labour area.
The seat includes Lockleaze, Eastville, Fishponds, Hillfields, Staple Hill, New Cheltenham and Kingswood. Also running to become Labour’s candidate is Damien Egan, the Bristol-born mayor of Lewisham.
