Candidate Questions & Answers

Photo of the four candidates.
L-r: Dan Norris (Labour), Jerome Thomas (Green Party), Samuel Williams (Conservative), Stephen Williams (Liberal Democrats)

We put the following questions to the four candidates in the 2021 West of England ‘metro mayor’ election, with each being asked to provide answers subject to an overall 200-word limit.

From an article in the May 2021 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine (read it online).

What is your background and relevant experience?

Dan Norris: I’m West of England through and through. I went to school here and have lived and worked locally all my life as an NSPCC-trained child protection officer, an MP and Environment Minister. When I was MP, my constituency had the lowest unemployment in the UK. I’ve run my own businesses and I’m also a champion for charities that help children and disabled people. I’m hugely proud of, and ambitious for, our area.

Jerome Thomas: I’ve had a long career running a business specialising in safety and I’ve been a Bristol Councillor for six years, so I know how business and government work. I’ve listened to the experts on climate change and I recognise we need a realistic plan based on a green economy which delivers homes and jobs for everyone. That’s why we’ve drawn up the Green New Deal for the West of England.

Samuel Williams: I grew up locally, in a single parent home, with an English mother and Jamaican father. I am a product of the community that helped raised me and I owe it a great debt. As a businessman, I have a track record of creating jobs and working with charities to help get people back on their feet. I’ve delivered big projects with big budgets that have helped improve people’s lives.

Stephen Williams: [Stephen was the MP for Bristol West from 2005 to 2015. He was minister for Communities and Local Government during the Coalition government. Prior to being an MP, he was a local councillor in Bristol and on the Former Avon County Council. He worked as a professional adviser to small businesses in the West of England.]
He says: “As a former MP and Minister I know how to work the system to get great deals for our region.”

ADVERTISEMENT
Kitchen & Laundry Appliance Care, Bradley Stoke, Bristol.

How do you view the role of metro mayor?

Dan Norris: It’s about bringing people together and making sure our area is firmly on the map: nationally and internationally. The pandemic has increased the need for effective leadership. It’s not good enough that money to support our High Streets is languishing in the bank when it’s desperately needed now. I’ll be an active and visible Metro Mayor to lead our recovery.

Jerome Thomas: The Metro Mayor’s job is to put into action the steps which are possible locally, working with communities who know what is needed, and to work with national government to get the policies and resources we need to create a successful green transition in the region. We can only do so much on our own. It’s vital that we press for national policy change.

Samuel Williams: The Mayor has a central role to play as the region builds back from Covid in delivering investment to create jobs and support business, improve transport infrastructure and deliver homes in the right places. But also in bringing people across the region together to deliver projects of the scale needed to take our region forward.

Stephen Williams: This role really matters to people’s everyday lives because the mayor decides where a lot of money is spent to improve buses, cycling and other ways to get around, new housing and creating new jobs.

ADVERTISEMENT

What are the key policies you would aim to implement, if elected?

Dan Norris: I’ll be a jobs first Metro Mayor. I will get people back to work launching my Green Recovery Plan to create 23,000 new jobs, rejuvenate our high streets, value our key workers, double investment in affordable homes, improve public transport, tackle the climate emergency and make the West of England the bee capital of the UK. Let’s build a society where we value what’s truly important.

Jerome Thomas: We need significant investment in housing, business and transport to make them fit for the future, so I will seek to free up £1bn of existing regional funds for our local economy. I will prioritise building new homes on brownfield sites, keeping our green spaces for farming and wildlife. I also want to see bus services improved substantially through partnerships with bus companies and community transport.

Samuel Williams: I will invest over £100 million over the next four years to secure the recovery of our skills and business. Furthermore, I will also safeguard our economy, facilitate growth, and deliver improved skills training. I will deliver at least six new train stations and crucial rail improvements; alongside pioneering new hi-tech ‘on-demand’ transport services, as part of an overhauled regional mass transit system. I will build 140,000 affordable homes, focusing on the significant brown-field re-development opportunities in our towns and cities.

Stephen Williams: The actions of the mayor in the next four years will help determine how far we recover from the two shocks of Brexit and Covid. My plan for a green revival includes:

  • Building thousands of affordable homes and council houses to the highest climate friendly standards, while protecting our green spaces
  • Creating new bus routes, with non-polluting buses, and new train stations to link up our cities, towns and villages
  • Making the West of England into a national Centre of Excellence for green technology
  • Planting one million trees using native tree species in new areas
Share this page: