Mayor names the final member of all-Labour cabinet
BRISTOL mayor Marvin Rees has announced the sixth and final member of his cabinet, making it a Labour-only cabinet.
Mr Rees named councillor Tom Renhard, a director at tenant’s rights group and community union Acorn, as the new cabinet member for housing.
Mr Rees, who has the executive power to appoint his cabinet, has already named five other Labour members. With himself at the helm holding the transport portfolio, that makes a total of seven in the pareddown Labour-only cabinet, which totalled ten under the previous administration.
There was speculation the Labour mayor might revert to a rainbow cabinet, which he axed during his first term in office, in acknowledgement of the outcome of this month’s local elections.
The elections delivered 24 seats each for the Green and Labour groups, 14 for the Conservatives and eight for the Liberal Democrats.
But Mr Rees indicated last week he would not appoint any members from the opposition benches to the ruling group until he felt there was the right level of “trust”.
Cllr Renhard - pictured right - is the only new face on the cabinet, the others having been re-appointed.
Mr Rees said: “We know that Tom has a lot of experience working in housing and as a new councillor will bring a fresh perspective.
“Tom has worked with Acorn supporting tenants and campaigning for housing rights for many years, and he has a vast amount of knowledge to share with us.
“Providing homes that people can afford and creating communities where people feel proud to live remain two of our main goals.”
Cllr Renhard has served for almost four years on the Bristol Homes Board, a group of representatives from different areas of the housing sector.
The new cabinet:
» Mayor Marvin Rees – lead on transport, planning and city design
» Craig Cheney – deputy mayor and cabinet member for finance, governance and performance
» Asher Craig – deputy mayor and cabinet member for communities, equalities and public health
» Helen Godwin – cabinet member for families, education and women (lead member for children’s services)
» Helen Holland – cabinet member for adult social care
» Nicola Beech – cabinet member for climate, ecology, waste and energy
» Tom Renhard – cabinet member for housing delivery and homes.