Tag: clusivity

Migration is one of the defining political issues of our time, and all around the globe national politicians are seemingly unable to meet the challenge. Today there are more than 1 billion migrants in the world. But I fear that if we only contest notions of collective identity at the national level that we will be waiting a long time for any meaningful success. Such a politics could also deliver lessons that can be applied across the country, creating a platform of strong local and regional identities on which to build a meaningful national narrative. If we want to support the development of strong and inclusive local identities, we need to empower local leaders by giving them the tools they need. Last October, Bristol was proud to host the third annual summit of the global parliament of mayors. One of the key items on the agenda was migration and how cities can take the lead in implementing the UN global compacts on migration and refugees. Those on the left need to find ways to support and enhance the role of cities at the international level if we want to see progress globally on the treatment of migrants and refugees. The global compacts give us a great opportunity to do just that. Marvin Rees is the Labour mayor of Bristol.