Bristol Unpacked

Neil Maggs sits down with Mark Weston, who was first elected as a councillor nearly 20 years ago, and has led the local Tory party for a decade. On the eve of the local elections, they discuss the Tories miserable national polling, the so-called 'war on motorists' being waged by Bristol City Council, and the cultural divides between Bristol's inner city and suburbs.

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Jos Clark is an experienced local councillor now leading the Lib Dems into Bristol's local elections. A party that used to have strong support in the city has seen its seats dwindle over the last decade. The critic of Marvin Rees and the mayoral system, who helped manoeuvre the referendum on introducing the new committee system, talks to Neil Maggs about libraries, Bristol's failing bus services and her prediction that Labour will take a kicking after eight years in power

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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.

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Salma, a lawyer who spent her childhood in Gaza, shares the 'dystopian' experience of life under occupation and knowing your family are in a war zone, as well as discussing happier memories and pro-Palestinian activism in the UK.

Content warning: contains graphic descriptions of war and violence

Salma Hajjar is a young trainee solicitor who spent her childhood up to age eight in Gaza, where decades of oppression and violence have been succeeded by a return to the horrors of all-out war.

In the latest episode of Bristol Unpacked, the last of the current run, Salma offers a devastating personal perspective on the war – which has taken the lives of some of her loved ones – and on the “dystopian” experience of living under occupation. She reflects on happier memories of the beauty of Gaza – its beaches, its food and its community – and on the pain and loss of being separated from home, and the desire to return one day. 

Salma, who has now lived in Bristol for five years, also discusses her love for the city, the solidarity she has found, including from Jewish friends, and the value of activism in changing public opinions – and holding politicians’ feet to the fire.

With the International Court of Justice recently demanding measures to reduce the suffering inflicted on Palestinian civilians – and continuing to weigh a genocide case brought against Israel by South Africa – pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza is continuing to mount. 

But under what conditions can such a deal take place? Do the court’s actions go far enough? And are there any grounds for longer-term optimism around an end to Israeli-Palestinian conflict and progress towards a two-state solution?

Join Salma and Neil Maggs for a sometimes harrowing but always thought-provoking finale to the winter season of Bristol Unpacked – and with elections on the horizon, be sure to stay tuned for the team’s next moves during the spring.

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Neil chats to Ruth, a daughter of the Windrush generation, on her decades of work with Bristol's voluntary and community groups, how that's changed as public services have been cut – and whether she feels conflicted about receiving an honour associated with empire

Ruth Pitter has been a stalwart of Bristol’s voluntary sector for decades – and in January 2024 was awarded an MBE as part of the New Year’s honours list for ‘services to equality, charity and community’ in the city.

This has included work with Voscur, the umbrella organisation that supports Bristol’s voluntary sector, and SARI, which battles racism and provides support for people who have faced hate crimes. She has also been a pioneer in the local community arts space, co-founding two unique theatre companies – Breathing Fire and Black Women Let Loose – for women of African and Caribbean heritage.

Ruth’s career has spanned a period during which councils have faced massive cuts, with community organisations expanding and competing to fill the resulting gaping holes in services – and often bringing innovation to how things have done. What is the role of the voluntary sector these days? Is it right that things have to be this way in the UK? Do countries like Germany, where the state still takes care of things, offer a better model?

What has been the impact of Ruth’s theatre companies among communities who are much less likely to feel represented in the audience – or the productions – of mainstream Bristol theatres such as the Old Vic? 

And as a daughter of the Windrush generation who has spent her life fighting for fairness, does Ruth feel conflicted about accepting an honour that is inextricably linked to empire? 

Lock in with Neil and Ruth as they chew over these questions and many more, in the latest unmissable episode of Bristol Unpacked.

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Bristol Unpacked with BBC journalist Lucy Proctor on mad cows, Covid and conspiracy theories

Thirty years ago, BSE was spreading across the UK while the government insisted beef was safe. Neil asks Lucy, producer of The Cows are Mad podcast, about the scandal – and how conspiracy theories have thrived as trust in the establishment has nosedived.

Over the past few years, BBC podcast producer Lucy Proctor has built a reputation for shining a much broader and more searching beam into the world of conspiracy theories than most other mainstream journalists.

Last year, her 10-part series The Cows Are Mad looked back more than 30 years to the BSE scandal, which sent shockwaves through Britain's meat industry. It re-examined how the UK government repeated the line that beef was safe, with those questioning the mantra dismissed as cranks. 

Since 1996, 177 people have gone on to die from the human form of 'mad cow disease'. But the truth of its origins remains a mystery, leaving theories to fill the vacuum.

The intervening 30 years have seen public trust in the establishment nosedive, both here and across the Atlantic. Competing narratives, misinformation and politicians' lies over a more recent public health crisis, Covid, have only fuelled the process. As Lucy and her colleague Gabriel Gatehouse explored in their 2022 podcast The Coming Storm, which looked at the QAnon movement in the States, it’s becoming increasingly difficult even to agree on what’s real any more.

So how did we get here? What has been the impact of mainstream media skirting round difficult issues, failing to report important stories properly and reducing people with ‘fringe’ views to caricatures? How have canny operators exploited information gaps and deployed social media to supercharge the spread of conspiracy theories? And is there any way back for trust in the powers that be?

Join Lucy and Neil as they chew over these weighty questions and, getting back to mad cow disease, discuss whether Bristol was ground zero for the epidemic. It’s almost certainly lashing down as you read this, so find somewhere dry and cosy and settle in for the first Unpacked of 2024…

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Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Watershed CEO Clare Reddington on cinema, class and council cuts

As Bristol City Council slashes spending on venues including arthouse cinema Watershed, Neil asks its boss Clare why funding the arts matters, and whether the sector's reputation as catering mainly to the well-heeled is justified. 

Over the past year Clare Reddington, the chief executive of Bristol's flagship arthouse cinema Watershed, has not been shy about fighting her corner in the midst of a tough financial environment.

Back in the summer Clare, who has been at the venue for 20 years and in charge for four,sounded a warning that indie cinemas' business model was under threat from soaring inflation and the big streaming operators gobbling their market share. This month sheblasted Bristol City Council bosses for lacking a "clear cultural strategy" after they cut funding from Watershed as well as other renowned arts centres including the Old Vic theatre.

With the cash-strapped local authority struggling to keep crucial services such as social care afloat, is this simply entitled moaning from a venue – and sector – seen by some as catering mainly to well-heeled cinephiles still able to afford £6 pints alongside their culture fix? Or does that viewpoint itself represent a bad case of inverted snobbery by suggesting that only the middle classes enjoy a bit of high art?

Why does it matter that the arts get funded, even while public services are getting sliced left, right and centre? Is the picture in Bristol really bleaker than in other provincial cities? And do the market pressures facing the wider cinema industry – which have seen big operators closing their doors here recently – present an opportunity for canny independents to grow their business and boost their inclusivity?

As 2023 draws to a close, join Neil and Clare for a wide-ranging chat over these issues in the final Bristol Unpacked of the year. We'll be returning right after the Christmas break for the rest of the season, so stay tuned.

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In the last few months, Wesley Bear has been at the forefront of actions by ACORN. That's the community union known nationally for taking direct action to stand up for tenants' rights, which originated in Bristol almost a decade ago.

On 17 November Wesley, ACORN's communications officer, was involved in an altercation with security guards at the Holiday Inn in Bristol city centre. Residents of the Barton House tower block evacuated that week have been temporarily housed in the hotel – in conditions many have complained are far from suitable for families. 

A recording heard at the start of this week's episode captures Wesley trying to speak to Bristol's mayor, Marvin Rees, during the incident, which he claims ended with him being assaulted by those security staff. The exchange, in which Wesley calls Rees a "villain" of the situation, marks the latest downward spiral in relations between the mayor – and the council more widely – and ACORN activists.

Over recent weeks the union has been calling out the council over its handling of the high-rise evacuation. People were moved out very suddenly over fears the structure is unsafe – and ACORN is calling for an independent inquiry into what happened. It's also been taking the council to task over proposals to reduce council tax relief for the poorest households – which have now been scrapped.

Things weren't always so oppositional. So what has turned them so sour? What exactly does ACORN believe the council has done wrong in its handling of the tower block emergency? Does the union really speak for the wider Barton Hill community? And does Wesley – as a communications man – see any way back to friendlier ties between ACORN and the powers that be?

Join Neil Maggs for another engrossing chat as he puts these questions, and many others, to Wesley.

ReplyForward

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Content warning: audio contains graphic discussions of violence

Eight years ago, filmmaker Aodh Breathnach was stabbed multiple times during a night out on Stokes Croft, and rushed in a taxi to the Bristol Royal Infirmary.

Aodh was lucky. He recovered from injuries to his head and body within a few weeks and tried to put the attack out of his mind, deleting photos from his phone and throwing away the clothes he had been wearing.

But the mental scars the stabbing inflicted proved far more resistant to healing, leaving him with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): night terrors, panic attacks and an ever-present feeling of fear.

The aftermath of trauma led Aodh into therapy and, several years later, to make a documentary based on his experience – and that of other people who have been victims of knife crime, which have been tragically common in Bristol and other cities. 

As part of the process, Aodh went as far as meeting his attacker to explore the impact of restorative justice. Can this technique, in which the survivors, their families and perpetrators of crime open up channels of communication, begin to repair the terrible harm that violent incidents cause? What support is out there to help people move on from the impact of PTSD? And how does it feel for someone accustomed to documenting others' personal experiences to turn the camera back on themselves?

In a fascinating first episode of a brand-new series of Bristol Unpacked, join Neil Maggs in a conversation with Aodh exploring these issues and discussing his thought-provoking film, Scars: Surviving a Stabbing.

Aodh Breathnach’s documentary, Scars: Surviving a Stabbing, is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.

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Poku Osei transitioned from hustling to sell sugar and DVDs in Ghana to running one of Bristol’s most celebrated social enterprises. Babbasa focuses on helping young people access and thrive with new opportunities, including through alliances with corporates and big institutions. But does this ‘social mobility’ approach undermine more wide scale change by lifting up individuals but not addressing why their communities are under served? Neil and Poku get philosophical and pragmatic on whether a system can or should be changed from the inside. 

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"F*** the police!", "Sluts Against Cops" and “We will burn your fucking cars.” These are some of the things Jasmine York said or graffitied during the ‘Kill the Bill’ riots in March 2021. The biggest incidence of unrest in mainland Britain in a decade. 

Jasmine was jailed in the aftermath for arson. As an activist and now ex-prisoner, what’s Jasmine’s take on what went down? Regrets? Didn’t it play into the government’s hands? And what is the big idea behind the abolition of prisons? 

Neil and Jasmine get into the events and significance of several days that rocked the city and what it meant for someone at the centre of it.

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Behind every politician is a fixer. For many years Kelvin Blake has been behind the scenes as a key figure in the city’s Labour party, working on key campaigns that have seen Labour secure the lion's share of political power. But what exactly goes on behind the scenes and where next for Labour as the Greens challenge the party’s establishment status?

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It's been three years since the Colston statue was toppled, thrusting the Merchant Venturers - the elite club with a history of the worst kind - into the limelight. But for many years prior, Christine Townsend had been on a mission to fight what she sees as discriminatory practises of pupil selection, starting off with Merchant Venturer run schools in Bristol. 

Now a Green Party councillor, Christine is a thorn in the side of the Mayor and others. But with the Greens poised to win further power in Bristol at the next local elections, how might an activist move into a position of power and all the challenges that entails?

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Bristol has long had a reputation as a hotbed of leftie radicals. Most recently, the movement that was built and surged during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party. 

Isaac has been a prominent activist with socialist campaign Momentum and as a co-founder of Bristol Transformed, a festival of radical ideas that will return to Bristol on the weekend of 16th of June. 

But the scene has attracted fierce criticism from across the party and political spectrum, as out of touch and perhaps a touch sanctimonious, and blamed for Labour’s crushing defeat in 2019. With the left thoroughly on the backfoot, what now in Bristol and beyond? 

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How can a stuffy institution with deep links to British Establishment power play a role in bringing about social justice on Earth, in Bristol and beyond?

Neil gets deep into a challenging conversation on the spiritual and political with Phil Nott, an experienced Church of England priest who is on that mission – and has just started a six-month role as the city chaplain at Bristol Cathedral, with a remit of working with the city's diverse communities. 

Reverend Nott might not conform to the stereotypical image of an Anglican minister. But how can this vocal ally of LGBTQ+ communities, and outspoken voice on the Church's historical role in racism and injustice, work with an organisation still steeped in conservatism? 

Listen in for a fascinating conversation that transcends earthly boundaries.

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A large part of raising the early years of the next generation is entrusted to nurseries. But the sector is in a protracted crisis of funding and stability. Childcare costs in the UK are among the most expensive in the world, and direct government support for nurseries has not kept up with increasing needs. Especially in the context of an austerity ravaged nation. 

So how to do the best for our young ‘uns? Sam Williams is the recently appointed Headteacher of Redcliffe Nursery, set within a diverse and working class community. Neil and Sam chat about the context, forward thinking approaches to child development and what has to happen to give all kids the best start.

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Nicola Beech has got a big portfolio at City Hall -  Strategic Planning, Resilience & Floods, plus representing St George Central. So how does she juggle the complexity with the pressures and controversies of political life? In this episode, Neil and Nicola dig into what it means to try to lead a city, and why it sometimes seems like developers are giving the council the run around.

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While the Robins set their sights on promotion, James Edwards is working off the field to promote opportunities for the community in and around Bristol City FC, with the club’s community arm the Robins Foundation. But with the furore over Gary Lineker’s comments, what is the role of football in community and political life? Listen in with Neil and James as they discuss how the beautiful game can have an impact beyond the agony and ecstasy of Ashton Gate.

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Has Bristol’s local politics caught up with how many outsiders see the city: Full of cycling vegetarian activists? The Green Party are now the biggest group on the city council, and Emma Edwards the councillor for Bishopston and Ashley Down is charged with leading them through a tumultuous period as the city gears up to ditch the mayor and move to a committee system. The Greens are no strangers to criticism from the left and right, and from Mayor Marvin Rees. How will a party proud of its record on protest and with limited experience of governing work with others in the city including their antagonists on the Labour benches? How can the Greens continue to reach out beyond the central leafy or leftie areas to represent the diversity of Bristol’s communities?

Sit in with Neil and Emma as they get stuck into this and more.

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Paul Simmons’ mugshot appeared on the front page of the Bristol Evening Post in 2004. Fast forward through many years in jail, crimes and devastating addiction Paul appeared on the front page in November 2022 for very different reasons. Having served 22 years in 20 prisons over various sentences since 17, the care leaver is now making a name for himself on social media. With daily videos on TikTok (@pauladdictmentor), podcast appearances and Youtube videos, Paul was working through his own traumas, regrets and challenges - and helping many others too. 

Join Neil and Paul for a raw and fascinating story of the care to prison pipeline, mental health in men’s prisons and how Paul is finding redemption and recovery his own way.

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Depending on who you ask, Ketamine conjures up different images and associations. For Dr Ben Sessa, a leading authority and practitioner of psychedelic assisted therapy, it is a powerful aid to helping people suffering from trauma and addiction. Sessa is the co-founder of Awakn, a company leading the burgeoning movement to use powerful drugs for healing with a clinic in Bristol and internationally. Tune in with Neil to explore the science, philosophy and context of this exciting field with a raver, campaigner and medical professional.

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From Boris Johnson to Marvin Rees will Martin Booth the editor of Bristol 24/7 become one of a long line of journalists who enter political office? 

Booth is in the running as an independent in the by-election for Hotwells and Harbourside ward. As editor of a local publication, what are Martin’s motivations and inspirations? Can anyone be really independent, including Bristol 24/7’s owners and shareholders? 

The area is the site of a major battle over the future of Bristol - the transformation of Cumberland Basin into Western Harbour. But what’s the big idea? Who wins and who will lose? Listen in!

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Arriving to the UK in 1998 as a refugee from Somalia, Fuad Mahamed soon left behind a career as an engineer to work on his passion: Supporting people who, like himself, had newly arrived to the UK often fleeing war and oppression. Founded in 2008 in St Pauls, Ashley Community Housing (ACH) is a leading organisation on the integration and support of refugees and asylum seekers with offices in Bristol and the West Midlands. But with immigration often at the centre of a fraught political context, how has Fuad navigated this personally and professionally? Join Neil and Fuad for an in depth conversation with one of Bristol’s newly appointed International Ambassadors.

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Just Stop Oil protestors have been disrupting business as usual since April 2022. A Daily Mail columnist called them “a deranged criminal eco-terrorist cult”. But who are the people behind the headlines? Neil sits down with Dr Patrick Hart, a local GP who has been putting his career and liberty on the line through direct action protests, including the smashing and spray painting of a petrol station. Dr Hart believes we have run out of time for purely legal ways of pulling the world back from what the UN has called “the brink of climate catastrophe”. But are these tactics effective? Are protestors losing public sympathy? Does that matter? Listen in for a conversation far and away from the soundbites of Good Morning Britain.

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Kerry McCarthy, the Labour MP for Bristol East, is the city’s longest serving representative in Westminster. Sometimes described as a ‘Brownite’ having been an ally of the former PM the last time Labour were in power, Kerry is now Shadow Minister for Climate Change. But is the party going far enough to confront the climate crisis? Can the Starmer’s ‘sensible centre ground’ coexist with the Left on key issues of immigration and taxation? How does a vegan, punk music lover get along with Tories in the House of Commons? 

Listen in with Neil and Kerry to hear from the person representing 70,000+ in Bristol East on the biggest issues of the day.

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From striking fear into the hearts of opponents with fearsome fast bowls to a gruesome career ending injury forcing retirement at 29, David ‘Syd’ Lawrence is a cricketing icon in Bristol and beyond. But it wasn’t all plain sailing in a sport known for its elitism for a self-described ‘tear-away kid’ of Black Caribbean heritage. Listen in with Neil and Syd as they discuss the trials and tribulations of making it in the game, a move into nightclubs and now his first year as the first Black president of a County Cricket Club at Gloucestershire. 

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Reach PLC is one of the largest commercial publishers in the UK, which owns household brands like the Mirror and the Daily Star as well as the majority of local titles including Bristol Live, and pulls in millions in revenue. But 1,000 journalists employed by Reach PLC started striking yesterday (Wednesday) after rejecting a 3% pay rise.

As reported by the Cable earlier this week, junior staff at Bristol Live are paid under £20,000 while senior staff are on just £25,000. These low salaries are forcing some journalists to resort to using food banks to feed their families, and all the while the chief exec of Reach PLC Jim Mullen took home £4m last year – 104 times more the median salary of a Reach PLC employee.

Listen in to this week's episode of Bristol Unpacked with Neil and local NUJ member Paul Breeden on what's at stake for the Bristol Live strikers, and whether the economically and reputationally battered news industry can ever improve its service to the public.

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When does bad behaviour get so serious that a young person should be permanently excluded from the mainstream school system? No More Exclusions, a campaign Lana co-founded, says never. For Lana, doing so is the result of a failed and often racist system. As an educator with decades of experience in Bristol and the region, Lana has a powerful vision that refuses to give up on any child. But what about the other 29 pupils who just want to get on? Neil and Lana chat through the politics and practicalities of a renewed education system, including why teachers have had enough and might be joining many other workers on strike this year.

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Women’s football was banned by the Football Association in 1921. Lasting for 50 years, the grandees of the football establishment deemed the sport “quite unsuitable for females”. Now, teams such as Aimee Palmer’s Bristol City are seeing an explosion in interest and fans. With England’s Lionesses eyeing up victory at the ongoing Euros, Neil and Aimee chat about her difficult journey as a professional player and what needs to happen to dismantle barriers for everyone who wants to play the beautiful game.

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Suddenly everyone is talking about trade unions in the struggle over who will bear the brunt of the cost of living crisis. We speak to someone at the forefront of organising a local dispute between workers and employers, part of a wave of workplace unrest taking place across the country.

Josh Connor is a local organiser for trade union Unison, and is supporting care workers to take strike action at St Monica’s Trust, the Merchant Venturer-connected care homes in Bristol, in a dispute of jobs, pay and conditions.

Neil and Josh discuss the background and detail of the strikes and what it means for the current rocky political moment locally and nationally. 

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Tom Morris says he has an “almost indecent passion” for Bristol Old Vic, the oldest theatre in continuous operation in the English speaking world. But how has the Kings Street institution evolved? Has it changed enough to justify huge amounts of public money and reach all communities with top quality art? Amid some fawning by Neil about Tom’s brother, Chris Morris, they chat about the simmering culture war over arts and the future of Bristol’s theatrical centrepiece.

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Opposition councillors say they have been shut out of scrutinising and making decisions, but Paul Hassan says the mayoral system has provided a focal point of leadership for the city as a whole to come together and solve common problems. Hassan came to Bristol in 1987 and doesn't remember the committee years fondly - and neither does he think May's vote will help address the deeper issues that Bristol is currently facing. Listen to the fourth of our mini-series on Bristol's referendum.

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Nicola Bowden-Jones was at the heart of Bristol’s Labour Party for years, but is now at odds with the city’s Labour administration in a big way. Having resigned amid a dispute with the mayor, Bowden-Jones is now campaigning to scrap the role altogether on the basis that it is anti-democratic. Some say this is a personal vendetta against Marvin Rees, but Bowden-Jones says for the city to move forward the mayor must be scrapped. Listen to the third of our mini-series on Bristol’s referendum.

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The city’s Labour administration says this referendum is an expensive distraction from the big issues the city faces. But have they brought it upon themselves? Opponents say the referendum is due to failure to engage with opposition councillors and a tendency to handpick who is involved in city governance, including too much influence of business. Ellie King, Labour’s cabinet member for Public Health and Communities says that the current mayoral model has delivered for the city in a way that the alternative committee system never could through clear leadership of the city as a whole. Listen in with Neil to find out from a leading voice in the pro-mayoral camp, in the first of four episodes in this referendum mini-series.

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The Lib Dem councillor who ‘prides himself on being a thorn in the mayor’s side’ led the vote on securing the referendum on whether to scrap the mayor. Representing Hotwells and Harbourside, Alex Hartley has compared the mayoral system to a post-Soviet oligarchy. Is this ridiculous exaggeration by a party set to gain the most from an insider’s political dispute, or a fair comment on a lack of true democracy in Bristol’s City Hall? Listen in with Neil who unpacks the issue with our first guest in a mini-series on the referendum set for 5th of May.

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As the slap reverberates around the world we talk all things comedy with Jayde Adams - who went from working in Asda Bedminster to her own Amazon Prime Special. She just starred in a new BBC documentary following her move back to Bristol. Going deep about how the death of her sister made her so driven, are there red lines in comedy, and what it is like coming home.

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The Railway Maritime and Transport trade union are no strangers to controversy, from winning massive pay rises for their members through sustained strike action, to an unapologetically socialist stance and recent accusations of being ‘Putin apologists’. But what role does an “industrially and politically militant union” play today? Neil speaks with RMT regional organiser and Bristolian Brendan Kelly on recent strife on the railways, ferry ports and a take on the war in Ukraine that has stirred up longstanding debates about foreign policy.

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The city's longstanding and self-proclaimed satirical scandal sheet has a reputation for not holding back on attacking local politicians, along with the great and the good for alleged wrongdoing. But what is the story behind the anonymously produced publication? Once nominated for a Paul Foot award, is their approach of journalism mixed with what many see as relentless trolling relevant in a changing media environment?

Neil Maggs and a long-standing contributor to The Bristolian hash it out.

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Nura Aabe as a mother and campaigner in the city's special needs crisis, and being Black and a Conservative.

A mother of a son with autism, Nura Aabe has been a central figure in the struggle to secure better special educational needs support in the city - in schools, the council and the Somali community. As a former local candidate for the Conservatives, Neil and Nura also discuss politics and why she has chosen a party historically not representative of migrant communities.

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Dan Norris is Labour's elected Metro-Mayor for WECA, aka the West of England region. Norris is the second in the role, following the Conservative's Tim Bowles and brings experience as a minister in Blair's government. So what are his politics and policies now? And, with some simmering beef with other local leaders, how does he plan to manage the various challenges and conflicts with the aim of getting a better deal for the region?

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The Gasheads have a new CEO. Tom Gorringe joined the club as commercial

director in 2017 and says he is determined to drive the club forward and

bring everyone along with him as CEO.

But the club has some challenges on its hands, on and off the pitch.

Including questions over a new stadium, Wael al-Qadi’s ownership and how

the Rovers can embrace the modern game while keeping true to traditions.

Listen in to Tom’s chat with Neil Maggs about the future for the club

and its loyal community of fans.

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Bristol has found itself at the centre of national and even international conversations about policing, protest, and criminal justice. At the top of the police chain of command is the Chief Constable for Avon and Somerset (ASP). The force covers approximately 1.7 million people across Bristol, Bath, and North East Somerset, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire. 

And now there is a new sheriff in town. After a selection process led by Mark Shelford, the elected Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner, Sarah Crew was appointed Chief Constable in November 2021. 

So who is Crew and how will she handle this powerful and influential role, and deal with the diversity of policing issues in the region? 

In an interview on Bristol Unpacked, the Cable’s podcast, Crew chatted with Neil Maggs about challenges, priorities, and controversies for the force - from protests to sexual violence and the war on drugs. 

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Craig Cheney is the local lad and councilor for Hillfields that is the controller of the purse strings at Bristol City Council. After 12 years of central government-imposed austerity, that purse is much smaller than it needs to be. Now as the council is planning for the new year's budget they need to fill a £23 million sized hole in the finances. With the threat of cuts and sales of council assets, Neil and Craig discuss the challenges of local government finance and what that means for Bristolians, whether so-called 'town hall fat cats' should take a cut and if the council is getting the best deal from Bristol's status as an increasingly attractive and wealthy city.

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What was it like acting with Christopher Walken when his next biggest role was playing a genital wart 20 years ago? Southmead-born Ian Aitchison runs cult record store Longwell Records. He and Neil talk about his cameo in The Outlaws made by his mate Stephen Merchant, growing up with a bank robber, his years as a drug worker, and the dangers of actors trying a Bristol accent! 

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What did he learn, regret and achieve during his time as mayor? Why does he hate tall buildings so much? And what is his big vision for the land at Bristol Zoo? Tune into the conversation with Neil and George to find out all this and more.

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In the wake of the tragic death in Lawrence Hill, Neil chats to Darren Alexander who runs Aspiration Creation Elevation (ACE), a music mentoring organisation for youth in Bristol’s disadvantaged communities. Darren and Neil, who both knew the young man, discuss what’s behind youth violence, tackling root and systemic causes and whether, as Avon and Somerset Police have said recently, drill music is a concern.

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Carla Denyer, an elected councillor in the city, has just won the leadership of the Greens alongside Adrian Ramsay. With Labour shifting to the right, and concern about the climate crisis starting to become mainstream, Denyer thinks this is the moment for Greens, in the UK and beyond. But can they get out of their pigeon-hole and reach a wide range of society? Will internal divisions rock the party like they have others? And what does this all mean for Bristol? Join Neil for an in depth interview on Carla's background, politics and plans.

An audio excerpt of a council meeting is used courtesy of Bristol City Council.

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Joe Sims is a well-known actor from Bristol. Having made it through the ranks of a notoriously elitist industry with a working-class background, Joe has a lot to say on and off-screen. Neil and Joe talk about his acting career, growing up in the city, and that video he made for Marvin Rees's re-election campaign.

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After a long stint working in Bristol's nightlife, in March Carly Heath was appointed by the council as Bristol's first ever Night-time Economy Advisor. Carly is charged with supporting a battered industry recover from the pandemic and for improving the vibrancy and safety of Bristol's nightlife for all. Neil and Carly cover the raging debate on sexual entertainment venues, drugs testing and a new set of 'Bristol Rules' to make the dancefloor safe and fun for everyone.

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Elected in May 2021, Mark Shelford is the first party political Police

and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset Constabulary. Shelford is

responsible for helping to set the overall policing strategy for Bristol

and the wider region, covering 16 parliamentary constituencies. Neil and

Mark discuss the Police and Crime Bill, the riot and protests in Bristol

, and how policing can be just and effective in an area as diverse and

Avon and Somerset.

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Karin Smyth became Labour MP for Bristol South in 2015 after a career working in the NHS. Since she has had to navigate the political turmoil of Brexit, snap elections, and infighting over the Labour leadership. She talks to Neil Maggs about her working-class background, why she thinks the mayoral system is undemocratic and why the influence of the Merchant Venturers should be limited.

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Kerry Bailes is a longstanding campaigner for Hartcliffe and a leading voice among parents seeking a solution for the Special Educational Needs and Disability provision crisis in the city. Elected as a Labour councillor in May 2021, Kerry is taking the fight inside the council and to represent Hartcliffe and south Bristol working class communities and make change happen for parents and special educational needs children.

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The Society of Merchant Venturers often gets talked about in

conspiratorial tones. Forced into the limelight by the toppling of

Colston, the Merchants have come under greater scrutiny for past and

present practices. According to the Society, they are opening up more to

the public, confronting their history and diversifying their membership.

They say that far from controlling the city they are just successful

professionals who donate time, skills and money to worthy causes. But

along with relatively low profile members, they also count some of the

city's biggest corporate big-whigs, controversial bosses, Conservative

Party donors and a leading climate change denier. Why does the Society

still exist and what are the roles it plays in the city today?

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The government is introducing a new law claiming to defend freedom of

speech, amid an alleged crisis on British university campuses of 'cancel

culture' and de-platforming. But is it really the case that freedom of

expression is being unduly restricted in our society? Or is it an

exaggerated distraction from bigger issues? Harry Walker of Bristol

Uni's Free Speech Society has been at the centre of the debate. Neil

sits down with Harry to thrash it out.

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Chris Brian was a anarchist activist in Bristol and south Wales in the 90s and early 2000s. Unknown to him and fellow activists, deep undercover in in their groups were police officers.

For years, the officers immersed themselves with the activists, got stuck into direct actions and even had long term relationships and parented children under false pretences. The shocking revelations continue to come to light in a official inquiry that is on track to be longest ever in British history. Neil talks to Chris about his experiences as an activist and current work researching the activities of the officers, some of which he knew as friends and allies.

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Paul Holbrook is an award winning filmmaker from Hartcliffe, south Bristol. His diverse films range from horror to comedy, and are often rooted in the experience of council estates and working class communities. 

Paul and Neil discuss ‘classism’ in the film industry, whether the importance of class is being underplayed in a national debate dominated by the media and cultural elites. They dive deep into the furore caused by a recent report by Parliament’s Education Select Committee, that implied that a focus on addressing racism toward students was leaving white working class children behind.

Paul's most recent film Hungry Joe (Content Warning) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj2NmOZ8i-s

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In this episode of Bristol Unpacked, presenter Neil Maggs interviews Ivan Jackson on coming out during the AIDs crisis, how Peter Tatchell fought for equality legislation and was hated for it, how to tackle countries where being LGBTQ+ is still punishable by death, the additions of trans and queer to LGBTQ, and transphobia and Twitter. Plus being left off the Bristol Live’s Pink List!

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We're back with season 4 of Bristol Unpacked. We kick-off with a conversation with leading local sports coach Rayan Wilson. Rayan has been involved in training amateur and elite athletes in Bristol and beyond, and chats with Neil about the ongoing controversy over taking the knee and how clubs can do better at nurturing diverse and inner-city talent for the beautiful game.

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A pub landlord, a socialist, a porn producer, an anti-lockdown advocate, and a tree lover: The five candidates from smaller parties or independents running for City Hall.

Interviews with the smaller party or independent candidates in the running for Bristol mayor:

Sean Donnelly, independent (01:53), Tom Baldwin, Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (20:50), John Langley (35:11), Robert Clarke, Reform UK (53:52) and Oska Shaw, independent (01:04:10)

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Marvin Rees is standing for the third time as a candidate for Bristol mayor. Having lost in 2012, Rees came back to comfortably win in 2016. Now after 5 years in office, Rees has a record to promote and to defend, attracting a lot of support and criticism from diverse quarters. In this in-depth interview, Neil and Marvin get into the personal, political and policy of the current mayor.

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Caroline Gooch is hoping for a dramatic improvement on the party's 2016 result of 8,000 votes to clinch the mayoralty, and then work to scrap it by referendum in three years. Neil and Caroline talk about her professional background in the pharmaceutical industry, being the only women in the running and what the Lib Dems are offering voters.

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The Greens are positioning themselves as the rightful heirs of Bristol’s green and progressive credentials. But having come fourth place in 2016, they have a hill to climb. Neil and Sandy chat about who will ‘get things done’ for the city and whether the Greens can cut through to the electorate.

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Its hard to say that the Conservatives have a strong electoral record in the city, but the businessman and former councillor Alastair Watson thinks he has a shot at unseating Marvin Rees on May 6th. Neil and Alastair chat about the recent protests and policing and what he say’s he’ll do as mayor.

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Dr Shawn Sobers has been one of the key people behind groundbreaking documentary and community media exploring race and community in Bristol for some time. Now an Associate Professor at UWE’s Film and Journalism Department, Shawn is also on Bristol’s History Commission. Set up by the mayor in the wake of the toppling of Colston, the commission has attracted some flack for its membership and seemingly opaque goings on. Neil and Shawn dig into the context around the Meghan and Oprah interview and how the commission is coming along.

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There’s often rumbles of ‘intergenerational divides’, whether it's over Brexit, if younger or older people ‘have it easier' and so on. At the same time, in a rapidly ageing population, older people are often neglected or sidelined unfairly and unnecessarily according to Ian Quaife of Bristol Older People’s Forum. Neil and Ian dig into the issues and explore how and why this is the case, and what can be done about it.

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Big appointments, fan dissent and the trials and tribulations of covering Bristol City FC with Bristol Live’s dedicated club reporter, Gregor Macgregor. Neil and Gregor chat about nurturing talent, why City struggle sometimes and what’s next for the south Bristol team.

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The government has stepped up their so-called ‘war on woke’ in the ongoing contest for Britain’s historical memory. With Bristol finding itself at the centre of the debate, Neil chats with the director of the city’s most celebrated event, St Pauls Carnival, on whether patriotism can ever be inclusive to include pride in diverse communities, or is it just a right-wing obsession to whitewash the UK’s past?

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A self-declared thorn in the side of the mayor’s administration, Clive Stevens has just stood down as a Green Party councillor in the city, due to stress brought about by the pressures of the job. 

Well regarded across party lines, Clive is a stickler for detail and a campaigner for greater transparency from a mayoral administration that he says is secretive about key policies and projects, which in turn undermines democracy and better outcomes for the city. 

Neil asks him if his approach is just blocking things getting done, and for his vision of how local government can be better.

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As a long-standing Labour councillor for Easton, Afzal Shah has been navigating the changing face of the neighbourhood and its diverse communities, including the recent dispute about the future of St Marks Road. But his recent appointment as the council cabinet member for Climate, Ecology and Sustainable Growth means an even bigger challenge: The struggle to get Bristol to its self-imposed deadline of net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. With nine years to go, Neil and Afzal - old school mates from decades ago - discuss the successes and criticisms of the administration’s work so far.

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Ade Williams is a bit of a celebrity pharmacist. Both around his pharmacy in Bedminster, South Bristol and speaking up in the media for a community-minded approach to healthcare. Neil and Ade talk about the practicalities and emotions of the vaccination effort, and the background and reasons for high levels of scepticism or ‘vaccine hesitancy’ across communities. 

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Content warning: Mention of sexual assault in prisons, self-harm and suicide.

Steffi made national news with her story of transitioning gender later in life to officially becoming a woman while deciding with her wife to stay together.

Steffi Barnett has a fascinating story, is a prominent activist for LGBTQ+ rights and awareness-raising, a radio host on local BCFM radio and exec-producer of Shout Out Radio. In this episode, Neil and Steffi discuss her moving story, the often vexed conversation around transgender rights including the current court case about puberty blockers, and whether societies and families can grow to love and accept gender diversity.

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There's a theory that in recent years some parts of the working class are being badly let down, and have sought answers elsewhere - contributing to the rise of right-wing populists and policies. This week we talk to Nick, one of the founders of ACORN, the community union who's main focus is on housing justice, but with much bigger ambitions to genuinely create working class solidarity and power as an alternative to the appeal of people like Trump. Started in Bristol based off a USA model of organising, they are confrontational, successful and controversial with branches all over the country. Nick and Neil talk about the journey so far, unpack some of the criticisms laid against ACORN and a vision for a different world.

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Content Warning: Discussion of suicide

Listen up, particularly men and boys. It's dark, it's wet, there’s a pandemic on. It's taking its toll, particularly on mental health. But there is light, and no it's not Boris Johnson’s cavalry. It's your friends, family and other support and networks you can access and build. This week we’re chatting to Desmond Richards, formerly one of Bristol’s best breakdancers, but now working with young people in tough circumstances to stop their heads spinning, as a young person’s mental health worker. We have an intimate chat about personal experience, men's mental health and how its much about you, as the circumstances you’re living in. Just a little note that we do touch on suicide and other tough themes.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts reach out to the Samaritans on 116123, or go along to see your doctor/GP's mental health nurse, or if you feel that you are not safe call 999 or go to A&E. It is a tough old time, but it will get better.

https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/

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Last week we had the Tory challenger for Bristol Mayor, and this week we

have a Labour party stalwart, councillor and cabinet member for children

services Helen Godwin. Helen recently lost the Labour election to be the

candidate for West of England Metro Mayor but is still a big player in

local party politics as council cabinet member for women and children

services. Neil and Helen chat about how youth services can be more

effective, the crisis in Special Education Need and Disability services

locally and whether women are just better leaders.

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As the debate around the legacy and current effects of racial injustice rages, some Conservatives of colour are speaking up in rejection of what they see as the dominant ‘woke’ views. 

Samuel Willams, the mixed-heritage Tory hopeful for Bristol’s mayoralty in May 2021 is one such voice. He chats with Neil about feeling patronised by the Left, being ostracised by others in the Black community and the Conservative Party’s successes and shortcomings in appealing to diverse communities.

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What does it mean to be Bristolian? Makala Cheung, born and raised in Knowle West of South-East Asian heritage, is a musician and creative director of the Filwood Centre in the South Bristol heartland. 

Listen in with Neil as they explore the ongoing debate of who is or isn’t Bristolian, the rise in racism against Chinese people since COVID, and how the wider city sees Knowle Westers.

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Tony Dyer has been around the political block in the city as mayoral, MP and councillor candidate for the Green Party. The Hartcliffe raised activist cannot attract the usual stereotypes associated to the party. With first hand experience of some of the most deprived places in Bristol and the UK, why did he never join Labour and where does he see politics in the city with an election around the corner?

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Arts and culture is taking a massive hit as the fallout of the pandemic continues. Emma Harvey is the outspoken CEO of the renowned Trinity Arts Centre and is at the forefront of the struggle to defend and champion the sector as a whole, and stick up for grassroots community culture while big city centre venues dominate the headlines.

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As a leader of Bristol’s Black and Green project, Zakiya is bringing a background in broadcasting and research to connect the inner city with the natural environment. Featuring on BBC 4 and across many platforms with writing, Zakiya is a Jamaican born in London and lived most of her life in Jamaica and brings a fresh perspective on many issues, and wants to see more radicalism in our thinking about race, class and climate change...and for people to stop being so polite! 

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From childhood experiences of being in care and bounced around different schools, to appearing on the front page of the Bristol Post last week talking about knife crime, Lawrence Hoo has a lot to say - often in poetry form.

As part of the Cable's Black History Month coverage, Neil and Lawrence talk about the renaming of Colston Hall to Bristol Beacon, how education and the arts are key to building positive paths for young people and the role a poet plays in the political process of the city. 

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Public concern about climate change is at an all time high. Yet we are still hurtling towards, and seeing the beginnings of an unimaginable crisis. Among those standing in the way is Chloe Naldrett and Extinction Rebellion, sometimes naked sometimes not. Though criticised as extremists and criminals by some, and dismissed as naïve and counterproductive by others, XR has attracted huge support and continues to make waves. 

Neil talks with Chloe, an active Bristol member, on where the movement goes next, how to diversify from its white middle class base, controversial tactics and why doing nothing is not an option.

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The famously humorous Hartcliffe local was a city councillor in the 1990s, and then getting re-elected in 2016, bringing professional experience to the role of city council cabinet lead for housing.

Credited with doing a good job but now standing down to lead a large housing association, Neil Maggs asks have the council cosied up to big business and developers too much, or is that the only way to begin to address the housing crisis, how democratic is Bristol City Council, and where Labour will go next in the city.

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Desmond Brown, on reforming the criminal justice system and being called a ‘police informant’

Now at the forefront of conversations to reform the criminal justice system locally and nationally, Desmond Brown is an advocate for racial justice, especially since the Tasering of Ras Judah by police in 2017.

Desmond has been accused by some of being a police informant, due to his work with local institutions and the police, a claim he strongly refutes as ridiculous. The former chair of Bristol’s Commission for Race Equality, Desmond is now the Independent Chair of Avon and Somerset Police’s Lammy Review Group. The group, the first to be established outside of London, has been set up to help the police force and local justice system implement the 2017 findings of David Lammy MP’s review into the treatment of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) individuals in the Criminal Justice System. 

He talks with Neil on knife crime, police discrimination of which he has suffered, and his work with Growing Futures, an organisation working with disadvantaged communities.

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Children's futures almost stolen, inequality made worse by algorithm and education in the time of COVID-19 in some of the UK's most deprived neighbourhoods.

This week Neil talks to Samantha Williamson, the Principal of Merchants Academy. The school responsible for educating children from Reception to 18 in Withywood and Hartcliffe, areas recognised as among the most deprived in the country.

As the school is operated by the controversial Society of Merchant Venturers, Samantha and Neil discuss discuss how she has felt leading a school connected to Edward Colston's former club, and their work on creating a new history curriculum to reflect Bristol's reckoning with its past.

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Krazy is a rapper, producer and broadcaster, and a force to be reckoned with. As a white man he has been accused of cultural appropriation, despite growing up with in the scene. Was the way that Wiley was treated after his anti-semitic comments also racist? Draper discusses a video that went viral this week, where he punched a bigot.

Last Man Standing is a new digital rap battle platform championing new artists, which is Krazy's true passion. Why do Bristol artists get left behind? We hear what Draper is doing to solve this.

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David Goldblatt is an award winning sports writer and broadcaster living in Bristol. He is the author of The Ball Is Round: A Global History of Football which had been described as the "seminal football history book,”

His latest work has seen him look at climate change and its impact on sport in a report commissioned by the Rapid Transition Alliance. The remarkable results were recently covered in the guardian, BBC World Service, and BBC Radio 4.

He discusses this with Neil Maggs, and how climate change, will affect how people consume sport. And how a topic often depicted as middle class, will have a real effect on the lives of working class football supporters. Including those of his beloved Bristol Rovers.

They examine how we can get this message out to people more effectively, and how sport could be the porta and catalyst to which people start to wake up and demand action is taken.

They also talk about the war against slugs.

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Growing up in poverty on the north Bristol council estate of Lawrence Weston, Jimmy didn’t read a book until he was 20. His life changed when his girlfriend took him to the Tate gallery in London. Now Jimmy is a renowned artist, composer and curator and has exhibited alongside the UK’s leading figures, including Mark Quinn, sculptor of the Jen Reid Black Lives Matter statue that was temporarily on Edward Colston’s former plinth. He even brought Yoko Ono's work to Bristol, curating an exhibition of her work at the Georgian House.

He is eccentric, opinionated, and in many ways an outspoken outsider in the arts community, railing against what he sees as the dominance of the cosy art world of Banksy. Openly critical of ‘brand Bristol’, he challenges the appetite for urban edginess and cool chic, over the need for real and radical change.

His mission is to make art accessible and reclaim it for working class communities– in which all his heroes from Lennon to Bowie to Coltrane came.

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Marti Burgess owns Lakota, a club in Stokes Croft that turned 28 this year. Neil and her discuss the old days and the future of this stalwart of Bristol nightlife. From the heady days of the House scene in the early 90s to the rumours of an imminent sale.

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Marti Burgess hit the headlines as the first Black person to join the notorious Society of Merchant Venturers, the 500 year old business and philanthropy club of slave trader Edward Colston and other members of Bristol’s elite, then and now. 

Marti is a corporate solicitor, chair of the Black South West Network and St Pauls Carnival and is involved with a multitude of other activities in the community including as the owner, along with her family, of Lakota night club in Stokes Croft.

So how could a Black person join such an organisation that some have declared as irredeemably racist and elitist? Marti explains to us her motivation for joining, and what she aims do from within.

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Born and raised Bristolian, community activist and diehard Bristol Rovers fan, Delroy Hibbert is a Black Lives Matter backer. But he also attended the ‘All Lives Matter’ nationalist demonstration in Bristol the week after Colston fell. A Bristol Cable video seen by hundreds of thousands captured a very tense moment with agitated protesters, ending in an iconic photograph of Delroy and a veteran shaking hands in front of the Colston plinth. 

Why, as a Black man, did he go? How does he respond to any criticism he may have received, what are the solutions to racial disparity in the city, and how can the black and white working class build bridges?

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Founding member of Countering Colston, Green party city councillor and former Lord Mayor, Cleo Lake has a lot to say on the big questions of politics, race, history and the future of Bristol and beyond. 

Unafraid to speak truth to power, Cleo has challenged Mayor Marvin Rees on not having confronted Edward Colston’s legacy, having herself swiftly removed his portrait from the Lord Mayor’s office. A leading voice for reparations for the legacy and current damage of slavery and colonialism, Cleo is currently running for election as Deputy Leader of the English Green Party.

https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-maangamizi-we-charge-genocide-ecocide

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Bristol Unpacked with Neil Maggs brings you fascinating and challenging conversations from characters of all stripes on big topics facing the city and beyond. 

Brought to you by the Bristol Cable, a new kind of newspaper for Bristol. 100% community owned by 2,200 members. Join them for just £1 a month and own your media. 

thebristolcable.org

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