Bristol mayoral candidate would scrap role if elected

Mary Page says she wants to allow local communities to set their own priorities

A candidate for Bristol mayor is pledging to scrap the role if she is elected and give "power back to the people".

Liberal Democrat Mary Page says she would hold a petition on the issue in 2022, at the first legal opportunity.

She said: "We don't need this hero figure to come and rescue us all. What we need is to do what Greta Thunberg has told us - change the system."

Ms Page is a businesswoman and one-time BBC radio journalist.

She said if elected she would reassess whether certain contracts were value for money.

These include the Temple Island development and Bristol Energy, which has so far received £37.7m of council funding.

Her other pledges include more public transport investment, extra park-and-ride sites and congestion charging for the worst polluting vehicles.

The other candidates standing are Sandy Hore-Ruthven for the Green Party and the incumbent Labour mayor, Marvin Rees.