On 6 May, everyone over the age of 18 who lives in Bristol will be able to vote for the city's next mayor. Also on this date, you can place your vote for the city's councillors, the West of England mayor, and the Avon & Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner.

Working with sector leaders across the city, we put together a number of pledges and asked each mayoral candidate to sign up to them. In May 2022, a year after the elected candidate takes office, we will report on how they have lived up to their promises.

Below, in alphabetical order, you’ll find the responses from Caroline Gooch (Liberal Democrats), Sandy Hore-Ruthven (Green Party), Marvin Rees (Labour Party) and Alastair Watson (Conservative and Unionist Party).

Caroline Gooch
Liberal Democrats
Caroline Gooch for Bristol Mayor

Pledge 1: I will champion the contribution of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.

The voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector has done so much for the city of Bristol, as we have particularly seen during the pandemic. But we must not forget the phenomenal continuous work that the sector has done before the pandemic, and the work that it will continue to do during our recovery and beyond. The sector is greatly valuable to our city and deserves to be championed and appreciated. I fully support this pledge.

Pledge 2: I will work with the VCSE sector to provide solutions to long standing inequalities, including the digital divide, isolation, mental health, affordable housing and unemployment.

The voluntary, community and social enterprise sector is valuable to our city and has much to offer, and so it is essential that the Bristol leadership works closely with the sector in addressing the biggest issues facing our city. I believe in the importance of collaborative politics and working together to find solutions to problems and reach common goals, and working with the VCSE sector is essential in that.

Pledge 3: I will support the voluntary sector and ensure fair opportunities for small and large organisations in influencing service design, commissioning and procurement and service delivery.

I will prioritise providing fair opportunities to participate in policy, action, and decision-making in our city, and I will happily support the VCSE sector in this.

Pledge 4: I will support measures to improve the lives of young people, ensuring equal access to education, job opportunities and mental health support.

We have a duty as a city to invest in young people, putting equality of opportunity first and giving every child and young person an equal opportunity to succeed. Unfortunately, we have particularly seen children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) let down in our city, and I am committed to ensuring that no family has to fight to have their child’s basic needs met. I am proud that the Liberal Democrats have a strong record in championing issues so close to young people, including mental health, education, and social justice.

Pledge 5: I will support measures to address climate change, for instance through the One City Climate Strategy.

The climate crisis demands immediate action. I am committed to creating a greener Bristol and ensuring that we as a city do our part for the planet, including through the One City Climate Strategy. If elected, I will do everything I can to reduce our carbon footprint, invest in sustainable public transport, tackle waste, promote active travel, and clean up our air and waterways.

Sandy Hore-Ruthven
Green Party
Sandy Hore-Ruthven for Bristol Mayor

Pledge 1: I will champion the contribution of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.

Yes, I am the CEO of Creative Youth Network, a charity I have grown from a small East Bristol group to be the largest of its kind in the UK - Supporting vulnerable young people. I am passionate about charities and see them as the key to supporting our communities and tackling our environmental issues. They combine deep knowledge of the communities they serve, with efficiency, the ability to bring in more money to the city, volunteers and innovation. They are a key partner in tackling the key issues in our city.

Pledge 2: I will work with the VCSE sector to provide solutions to long standing inequalities, including the digital divide, isolation, mental health, affordable housing and unemployment.

Yes - as ex-chair of Voscur, I am well aware of the issues faced by many in our city. In my work as CEO of CYN, I have worked with many other charities, the public sector and business to tackle these issues. During the pandemic we have sourced over 300 tablets for young people, offered mental health support to over 600 young people alongside employment support for hundreds more.

My commitment to affordable housing includes building 2000 new council homes. I understand how good partnership works (having won 2 national awards for our partnership work in South Glos and at The Station youth centre). I am committed to a relationship of equals (BCC and the VCSE sector), helping to solve the problems we face together.

Pledge 3: I will support the voluntary sector and ensure fair opportunities for small and large organisations in influencing service design, commissioning and procurement and service delivery.

Yes, overall I am committed to more local businesses and charities providing services to the Council and will look to increase the recognition and scoring related to social value in all Council Contracts. I will work with key, anchor organisations and smaller charities to ensure all organisations have the opportunity to delivery council contracts, shape services and the commissioning process.

I want Bristol to be at the forefront of VCSE/public sector partnerships and I understand the barriers smaller organisations face. As CEO of CYN, we ensured 9 local youth organisations continue to benefit financially from the TYS contract and we are working in partnership to secure further funding for the sector. I will bring this approach to partnerships across the city between BCC and the VCSE sector.

Pledge 4: I will support measures to improve the lives of young people, ensuring equal access to education, job opportunities and mental health support.

Yes, this is at the heart of my working life having grown CYN to support nearly 10,000 young people each year. The partnership of youth organisations led by CYN has protected youth services in Bristol throughout austerity. As Mayor I have already committed to double the support offered to unemployed young people in order to ensure they have best access to the jobs available as we recover from the pandemic.

I will continue to invest in apprenticeships, youth services and mental health support for young people - something CYN has done for years, both itself and in partnership with others such as 1625ip and Off the Record.

Pledge 5: I will support measures to address climate change, for instance through the One City Climate Strategy.

This is at the heart of Green Party policy and our manifesto contains a number of significant projects to reduce emissions - for example, insulating all council homes, investing £6m a year into public transport - halving bus fares for young people, encouraging cycling and walking and working with WECA to repurpose the road building budget into sustainable transport. You can find more details here.

Marvin Rees
Labour Party
Marvin Rees for Bristol Mayor

Pledge 1: I will champion the contribution of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.

Absolutely. Our manifesto includes £8m funding for the VCSE sector, some of which was signed off at Cabinet recently. Our One City Plan brings together all city organisations, including the VCSE sector. They've played an invaluable role throughout the pandemic - we recognise that and want to support them whatever way we can going forward.

Pledge 2: I will work with the VCSE sector to provide solutions to long standing inequalities, including the digital divide, isolation, mental health, affordable housing and unemployment.

Inequalities in Bristol have been long-standing, but have been exacerbated by the pandemic and we're committed to tackling all of them. Addressing the housing and jobs crises are key priorities. We've tripled affordable housing, and reduced rough sleeping by 80% in a single year - we'll now accelerate our homebuilding schemes, building 2,000 a year, 1,000 affordable by 2024, and work to address the unemployment crisis left by the pandemic.

We have plans to close the digital divide and improve mental health provision in the city, which are both included in our manifesto – which is available to read on VoteMarvin.UK/Our-Manifesto

Pledge 3: I will support the voluntary sector and ensure fair opportunities for small and large organisations in influencing service design, commissioning and procurement and service delivery.

We brought forward a Social Value Policy to make sure that when procuring goods and services for the council, we are maximising the economic, social and economic benefits for Bristol. That policy includes an explicit commitment to supporting the creation, sustainability and growth of local community groups, voluntary groups and social enterprises, and for us to make sure we're spending a proportion of the council's procurement budget with social enterprises and voluntary and community organisations.

To do that effectively, we know we need to work collaboratively with Bristol's VCSE sector to maximise the contributions and opportunities for community and voluntary organisations across the city.

Pledge 4: I will support measures to improve the lives of young people, ensuring equal access to education, job opportunities and mental health support.

One of my main pledges in 2016 was to improve the work experience and apprenticeships offer in Bristol. We've delivered on that, by putting 12,000 young people into quality work experience who wouldn't readily have access to it. We've also made Bristol a Living Wage City - going forward, we will ensure our economic recovery benefits all of our communities, and that there is an array of opportunities available for young people.

This past year has been very difficult for people's mental health, so investing in more mental health support for young people has never been more important. We will expand mental health training and strengthen our mental health support organisations.

Pledge 5: I will support measures to address climate change, for instance through the One City Climate Strategy.

The One City Climate Strategy is essential for us to meet our climate goals - I am fully committed to it, as it was under this administration that the strategy was formulated. It's helped our work to put Bristol on track to net zero by 2030, and going forward we will build on this work by investing £1bn in clean energy and by doubling our tree canopy.

Alastair Watson
Conservative and Unionist Party
Alastair Watson for Bristol Mayor

Pledge 1: I will champion the contribution of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.

I know that Bristol has an amazing voluntary and social enterprise sector. As Lord Mayor I celebrated the work of many organisations, charities and individual volunteers. I believe that the activities that this sector are often better provided by these organisations than by the Council or government. I will always do all I can to champion the VCSE sector and provide support wherever possible.

Pledge 2: I will work with the VCSE sector to provide solutions to long standing inequalities, including the digital divide, isolation, mental health, affordable housing and unemployment.

If elected as Mayor of Bristol, I will work with and consult with the VCSE sector on all of the above issues that we have in our society in the city.

Pledge 3: I will support the voluntary sector and ensure fair opportunities for small and large organisations in influencing service design, commissioning and procurement and service delivery.

Yes, I will.

Pledge 4: I will support measures to improve the lives of young people, ensuring equal access to education, job opportunities and mental health support.

I am passionate about improving the opportunities of young people in the city. Every one of our youngsters should have equal access to high quality education, work experience, fulfilling jobs and mental health support where necessary.

Pledge 5: I will support measures to address climate change, for instance through the One City Climate Strategy.

I am a committed environmentalist, and will look to set ambitious targets for all aspects of our environment in Bristol including clean air, parks and green spaces, and reductions in CO2. If elected, I will review the current plans and work towards net zero whilst balancing the needs of our economy and protecting the natural environment.