On the warmest day of the year, people are talking about how cool Bristol is.

In an article titled Redefining ‘Cool Britannia’ outside the capital in Demos Quarterly today, Journalist John Harris says that Bristol’s ‘abiding culture mixes egalitarianism with the urgent excitement of a people who do not wait for anyone’s permission before getting started.’

I think we have some way to go to become more egalitarian here in Bristol and I am committed to improving social mobility and closing the gap between richest and poorest areas in the city.  But I believe that Bristol is innovative, unique, subversive and, while it doesn’t seem like it today, pretty cool.