Marvin Rees facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marvin Rees
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Rees in 2023
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| 2nd Mayor of Bristol | |
| In office 9 May 2016 – 7 May 2024 |
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| Deputy | Craig Cheney Asher Craig |
| Preceded by | George Ferguson |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
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| Assuming office TBD |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | April 1972 (age 53) Bristol, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | Swansea University (BSc, MA) Eastern University (MS) |
Marvin Rees (born April 1972) is a British Labour Party politician. He was the second and last Mayor of Bristol from 2016 to 2024. In December 2024, he was appointed a life peer, which means he became a member of the House of Lords for life.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Marvin Rees grew up in Bristol, England. He lived in areas like Lawrence Weston and Easton. His British mother raised him. He went to St George comprehensive school in Bristol.
Later, he studied at Swansea University, where he earned a master's degree in political theory and government. He also got a master's degree in global economic development from Eastern University in 2000. He then completed a special program at Yale University called the World Fellows Program. During this time, he helped Tony Campolo, who was an advisor to former US President Bill Clinton.
Early Career and Community Work
Before becoming a politician, Marvin Rees worked in many different areas. He was a freelance journalist and a radio presenter for BBC Radio Bristol and Ujima Radio. He also worked as a manager for an agency called Black Development Agency. This agency helped people and communities by creating chances to work abroad.
In Bristol, he worked for Public Health, focusing on making things fair for different races in mental health services. He also worked in the United States for a community group and a charity that helps young people.
Political Journey
Becoming Mayor of Bristol
In 2012, Marvin Rees first tried to become the Mayor of Bristol. He was chosen by members of the Labour Party in the city. He ran against four other people, including a former Member of Parliament. In the election, he came in second place, losing to George Ferguson.
After this, Rees started the Bristol Leadership Programme in 2012. This program helped people from less fortunate backgrounds achieve their dreams. He also worked with the Bristol Partnership, which aimed to make Bristol a better place. Its goals included making the city's success last, reducing differences in health and wealth, building stronger communities, and helping young people succeed.
First Term as Mayor (2016-2021)
Marvin Rees was chosen again to be the Labour candidate for mayor in 2016. On May 5, 2016, he was elected Mayor of Bristol. He received many votes, making him the first black mayor of African descent in the UK.
When he started, Bristol faced money problems. The council had a large budget shortfall. To fix this, Rees started a program to reduce the number of council workers. He also ordered a report that found some council officers had not been open about financial issues.
Rees promised to build more homes in Bristol, aiming for 2,000 new homes each year by 2020. He wanted 800 of these to be affordable. He created a city-owned housing company called Goram Homes to help build these houses. While the number of new homes built was close to the target, the number of affordable homes was lower than planned. This was partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020 and 2021, Marvin Rees was named one of the Top 100 most influential people in the UK of African/African-Caribbean descent.
Bristol Arena Decision
One big decision Marvin Rees made was about building a new concert and event venue, called the Bristol Arena. In September 2018, he decided not to build it in the city centre, near Temple Meads railway station. This decision caused a lot of discussion, especially because many city councillors wanted it in the city centre.
Rees explained his reasons: the cost of building had gone up to £150 million, which the council would have to borrow. He also worried about the financial risk if the arena wasn't successful. He believed a different type of development would create more and better-paying jobs. He also had an agreement for a larger, privately funded arena to be built in the north of the city, which would cost the public nothing.
Edward Colston Statue
In March 2019, Marvin Rees stopped a second plaque from being added to the Statue of Edward Colston. He felt the words on the plaque did not properly explain Colston's role in the Bristol slave trade.
In 2020, after protests happened around the world, protestors in Bristol pulled down the statue of Edward Colston and pushed it into the harbour. The city council later took the statue out of the water. Rees announced it would go to a Bristol museum, where its full history could be told. This event brought Bristol into the global news. Rees also announced a new group to study Bristol's history, including issues of class, race, and gender.
After the statue was pulled down, some people were charged with damaging it. In January 2022, a jury found them not guilty. Some people criticized Rees for not removing the statue sooner. Rees said he chose to focus his efforts on jobs, housing, education, and fighting racism, rather than on a difficult symbolic issue. He was happy that the statue was no longer there.
Second Term as Mayor (2021-2024)
Marvin Rees was re-elected as Mayor in May 2021. He won with 56.5% of the votes. He promised to increase the target for new homes to 2,000 per year by 2024, with 1,000 of them being affordable.
In October 2020, he received an honorary award from the Royal Institute of British Architects for his work in the city. In July 2023, he received another honorary degree from Swansea University.
In May 2022, Bristol held a vote to decide if the city should keep having a mayor or switch to a council-led system. The city voted to get rid of the mayor's job. Marvin Rees continued to serve as mayor until May 2024, when the new committee system began.
In June 2022, Rees was criticized for taking a long flight to Vancouver to talk about climate change at a TED event. When a reporter asked about this, a council spokesperson questioned if it was appropriate for that reporter to ask such a question. This led to some local news outlets, including the BBC and ITV, not attending the mayor's future press conferences.
On July 6, 2022, Rees announced that a Clean Air Zone would start in central Bristol in November 2022. This zone would charge older, more polluting vehicles to drive in the area.
In 2023, he tried to become a Member of Parliament for a new area in Bristol, but he was not chosen. He was also nominated for the World Mayor Prize but did not win.
Later Career and Personal Life
In June 2024, Marvin Rees became an honorary professor at Bristol University. He will work at the university's environmental institute.
On September 4, 2024, he released his book, Let's See What Happens, which is about his life and time as Mayor. In December 2024, he was appointed a member of the House of Lords as a Labour life peer.
Marvin Rees is married to Kiersten Rees, and they have three children. He describes himself as mixed-race, with a British-Jamaican father and a white British mother. His mother raised him as a single parent, and he grew up in Bristol in difficult financial times with seven siblings. He is a Christian and has spoken openly about his faith.
In 2018, a documentary film called The Mayor's Race was released about his journey into politics. In 2020, the BBC made another documentary called "Statue Wars" about Rees and the events surrounding the Colston statue.
Marvin Rees was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2024 for his work in local government.
