Concentration of power in London is ‘UK disease’ says outgoing Bristol mayor

Marvin Rees: ‘I’m a mixed race kid who grew up on benefits, lived on a council estate, and happened to have fought my way into a position I should never have been in.’ Photograph: Karen Robinson/The Guardian

Marvin Rees, the outgoing mayor of Bristol, has called for more power to be put in the hands of city leaders to help tackle issues such as decaying infrastructure and the climate emergency.

Rees, who is nearing the end of an eight-year stint, argued that the concentration of power in London was a “UK disease” that was curbing progress across the country.