Links I like 12.05.05

Reaction to the elected mayor vote in Bristol – various
Well done Bristol for bucking the national trend and voting decisively, if in small numbers, in favour of an elected mayor to lead the city from November. They were the only city to vote yes to the proposal following a pretty low-key campaign on the issue. The Centre for Cities has published some links on the issue, while the Bristol Post’s coverage of the result and early indication of who the runners and riders for Bristol’s first elected mayor has been well-informed, detailed and sharp, as good local journalism should be. Whether the result was an endorsement of the proposal or due to more negative factors is open to question, which The Guardian poses in its leader on the issue today. Having followed the debate, I’m sure many people voted yes because the current council leadership was against the idea. Anti politics and apathy were the biggest winners this week, but all is not lost. Hopefully a new way of doing things in Bristol will start to change that.

Elections – ‘We the council’ – Kevin Jump
‘Webist’ Jump provides insight into the information provided by council websites about this week’s local elections. He concludes that interest in the local elections is high and the correct information is available, but is not entirely useful and lacks focus on the needs of local users. A number of websites in the area I cover at work are included in the survey.

Links I like 10.12.14

Here are a small number of online reactions I have noticed from those directly affected by the Localism Bill, laid in Parliament yesterday.

‘We welcome the general thrust of the Bill…however…’ – GWE Business West blog
A cautious welcome from the Chambers of Commerce covering Bristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire.

Reaction to Localism Bill – LGiU the local democracy blog
One of a few decent posts on the LGiU blog, from chief executive Andy Sawford (who is also worth following on Twitter).

Getting to the heart of localism – Living with rats
Julian Dobson writes about a Bradford community group that has put localism into action and highlights some of the policy pitfalls in the process.

‘Barbara’s our Boris’ – Bristol Evening Post
Reaction to yesterday’s news that Bristol City Council leader Barbara Janke is its ‘answer to Boris Johnson’, as part of the bill’s plans to created a new breed of 12 elected mayors in England’s urban metropolitan areas. Here’s hoping for a decent debate on this issue in the months ahead.