Bristol City Council

Edition 43

How local pension funds invest millions in defence, and why divestment isn’t simple

Avon Pension Fund manages £6 billion for 135,000 workers — but its investments in defence are sparking debate

Faith Rhiannon Clarke

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Neil Maggs

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Yassin Mohamud, the city’s first Somali lord mayor on bringing people together

Neil Maggs / Maggs Smart Media
Neil Maggs / Maggs Smart Media

Opinion

Illustration of figures climbing up stacks of bank notes using ladders

The Greens’ UBI proposal doesn’t go far enough

Rae Deer

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Neil Maggs

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Green councillor Ani Townsend on art, inequality and the case for a universal basic income

Should the state give people free money? This week Ani and Neil discuss how a universal basic income would work, why supporting the arts is a class issue, and whether ‘eco-populist’ Green leader Zack Polanski can take on the traditional parties – and Reform.

Neil Maggs / Maggs Smart Media
Neil Maggs / Maggs Smart Media

Profiling Power

Surveillance isn’t safeguarding: Think Family and the fight for transparency

Sean Morrison
Sean Morrison

Opinion

The destructive juggernaut of Black Friday reminds us why we should resist the advertising industry

Robbie Gillett

Reports

Two men in suits stand next to each other smiling.

‘Crying out for radical change’: Bristol’s new Green councillor on defecting from Labour

We sit down with British-Palestinian councillor for Frome Vale, Alsayed Al-Magrabi, to discuss his his journey into politics, and his defection to the Greens

Adam Quarshie
Adam Quarshie

Investigations

Illustration of rows of orange and green houses plus cards from the game Monopoly.

Bristol council paying huge sums of money to rent homes from banned landlord

Back in 2022, Bristol City Council obtained a five-year court order barring landlord Naomi Knapp from renting out her homes. Now, it’s spending hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money to use her properties as emergency accommodation.

Alex Turner Daisy Steinhardt
Alex Turner and Daisy Steinhardt

Opinion

East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood: Good intentions aren’t enough

Real climate justice isn’t about green mobility zones or bike lanes—it’s about dignity, equity, and solidarity.

Sara Melasecchi
Sara Melasecchi

Reports

Illustration of a woman looking worried, surrounded by dozens of sheets of red paper.

‘They needed to know how wrong this was’: one woman’s battle against council bailiffs

Bristol City Council claims to have an ‘ethical’ debt collection policy, but has sent bailiffs to thousands of vulnerable residents’ doors. After pressure from ACORN, the council has finally committed to investigate.

Matty Edwards
Matty Edwards

Reports

Marvin Rees receives payment from energy giant he awarded massive contract to

US firm Ameresco is now a paying client of Lord Rees of Easton, who struck the £1 billion City Leap decarbonisation deal with the firm when he was Bristol’s mayor.

Sean Morrison
Sean Morrison

Reports

Illustration of a three tower blocks held by rope falling on three people's heads, on a pink background

As Bristol battles to build affordable housing, developers are still gaming the system

The Cable has uncovered a brazen attempt by prolific property developers to escape building affordable housing, at a time when the city is still falling well short of its own targets.

Matty Edwards
Matty Edwards
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