Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees: Faith, doubt and black lives matter

The Profile

The Mayor of Bristol found himself in an awkward position last summer. Marvin Rees was visibly delighted that the statue of slave trader Edward Colston, which had stood in the city centre for 125 years, had been torn down by Black Lives Matter protestors and thrown into the harbour. But given his position as mayor, he also told reporters he could not condone criminal damage. When I put this disparity to the 49-year-old, he shrugs. “Yeah, absolutely, but we live in a complicated world, and sometimes two things can be true at the same time.” Rees has learned to embrace complexity and paradox, especially when it comes to his faith. He became a Christian aged ten at an evangelical crusade, and was taught “certainty is the mark of faith” at university. In this in depth interview he explains how his faith has changed over time and why Jesus' parable of the talents is inspiring him to work for change in Bristol and beyond.

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