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A gripping, insightful, moving memoir and manifesto from Marvin Rees, the first mayor of Black African heritage to lead a European city.
In 2016, Marvin Rees was elected as Mayor of Bristol, the first time a major European city had elected a mayor of Black African heritage. Re-elected in 2021, his eight-year tenure took the city through everything from Brexit to COVID, the cost of living crisis to the fall of the Colston statue. With the eyes of the world on Bristol, Rees navigated a high-stakes balancing act to keep the city together, all the while dealing with racist abuse and personal threats.
His rise to political leadership was anything but straightforward. The mixed-race son of a Jamaican father and white single mother, he grew up in a household where money was tight. Searching for purpose, he found confidence through boxing, and applied to join the Marines, but failed the medical due to an eye condition. Opting for a career in journalism instead, he soon became interested in politics, winning a place in Yale's prestigious World Fellows Program for rising global leaders and being selected as the Labour Party candidate for Bristol's first mayoral election in 2012. And lost.
Let's See What Happens chronicles Marvin Rees's fall and rise to political success, and how the failures along the way ultimately proved a blessing in what he learned about life. He describes both the challenges and opportunities he faced as mayor, helping his home city grow to one of national and international prominence. His influential One City approach to governance led to a celebrated TED talk on the future of cities, with over one million views and counting.
Thoughtful, straight-talking, passionate, this is the fascinating story of one of the most charismatic leaders in British politics today.
