News / Bristol Mayoral Elections 2021
Latest Bristol mayoral candidate promises to give a voice to working class
With just over a month to go before the Bristol mayoral elections, another candidate has announced he’s throwing his hat into the ring.
Tom Baldwin, who has twice run for the city’s top job, will once again be standing on an anti-austerity platform and promises to give a fighting voice to the working class.
The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidate says his staunch opposition to public sector cuts is more important than ever in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
is needed now More than ever
If he secures victory at the polls on May 6, Baldwin pledges to mobilise a mass campaign against the “Tories’ austerity agenda and the failing capitalist system of profit and greed” and to demand council money is returned.
Tom Baldwin promises to give a fighting voice to the working class – photo courtesy of Tom Baldwin/TUSC
“Bristol needs a mayor who will stand up for the working class and oppose the attacks on our jobs, services and standard of living,” says Baldwin, who is currently chair of the Bristol area Unite Community branch.
“It is vital that the new administration use their position to oppose austerity rather than carry it out. Ordinary people should not be made to pay for the crisis. I will oppose council tax, rents and charges being raised faster than people’s incomes.
“Our campaign will also bring socialist principles like public ownership to other burning issues facing Bristol, such as housing, public transport and jobs. If elected I will only take the average wage of a worker in the city, not the inflated £79,000 mayoral salary.
“In the last year protest movements have raised the burning issues of institutional racism and violence against women. I will use the position of mayor to address these issues, to amplify the voice of these movements and to defend the right to protest against draconian Tory legislation. As a socialist I stand against all forms of oppression and for the unity of the working class.”
TUSC has confirmed it will also be contending ten council seats in the elections on May 6. The party, which was co-founded by the late Rail and Maritime Transport workers’ union leader Bob Crow in 2010, had curtailed activity under Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party but resolved to stand in the local elections after Keir Starmer took over as leader.
Langley will stand against incumbent Labour mayor Marvin Rees, Green candidate Sandy Hore-Ruthven, Lib Dem Dr Caroline Gooch, Tory Alastair Watson and independent John Langley.
Main photo courtesy of Tom Baldwin/TUSC
Read more: Independent John Langley confirms he will run for Bristol mayor again
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