Just three years after being first elected as a councillor, Labour’s Tom Renhard is now leading the party into May’s local elections. Neil Maggs asks him about his record as the city’s housing chief, why he thinks the Greens aren’t up to the task of being in power and Labour’s plans for building new homes, campaigning for rent controls and bringing buses back into public ownership.
We will be interviewing the other leaders of the main parties before the local elections on 2 May. Check out the rest of our local election coverage here.
Keep the Lights On
Investigative journalism strengthens democracy – it’s a necessity, not a luxury.
The Cable is Bristol’s independent, investigative newsroom. Owned and steered by more than 2,600 members, we produce award-winning journalism that digs deep into what’s happening in Bristol.
We are on a mission to become sustainable – will you help us get there?
Comments
Related content
Listen: People Just Do Something Live – comrades aren’t cringe, with leftwing US academic Jodi Dean
What's the difference between a party and a movement? Is communism really on the horizon? And how can the UK left get its act together? Professor Jodi Dean has some – but not all – of the answers Isaac and Priyanka crave…
Listen: Bristol Unpacked, with Labour councillor Kirsty Tait on the Just Transition and how best to spend £20m in Hartcliffe
Neil asks Hartcliffe and Withywood representative Kirsty Tait about the government money the neighbourhood is getting – and about the importance of putting working-class voices at the centre of climate conversations.
Listen: People Just Do Something – investigative journalist Sian Norris on going undercover with the many men of Reform
As a well-known left-leaning journalist, how does one turn up at a Reform rally and go undercover without being outed? This week, Sian Norris breaks that down for Isaac and Priyanka, as well as discussing the party’s rise and the far right’s wider attack on reproductive rights.
Listen: People Just Do Something – Isaac meets the Great Baldini at Cribbs Causeway’s Tesla Takedown
Who are the people taking part in the global Tesla Takedown at the local dealership for Elon Musk's cars, in Cribbs Causeway. And do they have an effective protest strategy? Isaac hits the road to try to find out.
Listen: Bristol Unpacked with the BBC’s Pete Simson on the WECA mayoral election, making politics interesting and why snacks matter
Neil talks to Pete Simson, BBC Politics West editor, about the race to become the new mayor of the West of England Combined Authority and whether an upset in the 2025 election is likely after Arron Banks' entry.
Report a comment. Comments are moderated according to our Comment Policy.
Can anybody know why South Glosshire Council has stopped funding Thornbury WESTlink travel service to stop picking you up in Thornbury and other places. Disabled person This told me about the only one way you manage to get around look hilarious who are sincerely Kevin, D Baker
No party is likely to win enough seats to form an absolute majority, so power is going to have to be shared. I’d say the Greens, with their talk of cooperation and working together, are much better prepared for that than chippy Labour,
I can’t stand this negative bogeyman politics, telling us how much the other party stinks. I’d really rather Labour focused on their own attributes, what they’ve delivered, their values and what they have to offer. Is any party ready to govern? The people who make up the party come and go, so it’s somewhat amorphous. What matters is what binds them together, what do they want to do. I don’t particularly favour the greens, I don’t know enough about them, but this doesn’t make me want to vote labour.