Bristol fashion ? Leadership and local politics in England and the power of democratically-elected mayors : an epiphenomenon or a national trend ?

In 2012 Bristol, one of the top English cities, on a par with Manchester in terms of population, elected its first democratically-elected mayor. To lead its council, Bristol elected not a member of one of the traditional political parties, but George Ferguson, local businessman and political novice, leader and sole member of Bristol First, the localist party he founded. This paper will examine how local politics in Bristol have been influenced by the introduction of direct democracy in mayoral elections in England and whether the Bristol case is a blueprint demonstrating how local politics are independent from the national level and new leadership styles and issues or whether Bristol merely reflects the general trend in the sixteen remaining directly-elected city mayoralties.