Politics of Bristol

The city of Bristol, England, is a unitary authority, represented by four MPs representing seats wholly within the city boundaries. As well as these, Filton and Bradley Stoke covers the northern urban fringe in South Gloucestershire and the north eastern urban fringe is in the Kingswood constituency. The overall trend of both local and national representation became left of centre, favouring the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats during the latter 20th century, but there was a shift to the right in the 2010 general election (although this was not reflected in the local elections). The city has a tradition of local activism, with environmental issues and sustainable transport^[1] being prominent issues in the city. The most recent City council elections were in May 2013. On 3 May 2012, Bristol held a referendum to decide whether the city should have a directly elected mayor to replace the leader elected by councillors. The result was announced on 4 May. 41,032 voted for an elected mayor and 35,880 voted against, with a turnout of 24%.^[2] An election for the new post was held on 15 November 2012,^[3] with Independent candidate George Ferguson becoming Mayor of Bristol.

City Council

Bristol City Hall.

The City of Bristol is a ceremonial county governed by a unitary authority; Bristol City Council. The city is divided into 35 wards, which each elect two councillors for a four-year term. One third of the councillors are elected three years in four, but as only one councillor from any ward stands at a time, two-thirds of wards are competed each election.

The full council of 70 councillors has ultimate responsibility for establishing the decision making process and approving the Council's budget and policy framework.^[4] The council meets at the City Hall (known as the Council House up until 2012). Full meetings are chaired by the Lord Mayor, a largely ceremonial role that does not hold direct power. The Lord Mayor is a councillor, elected annually in May by the council members.^[5]

The elected mayor (not the Lord Mayor) acts as leader of the cabinet and appoints up to seven councillors as members (six were appointed as of May 2013). The cabinet is responsible for most day-to-day decisions though the elected Mayor retains the right to override cabinet votes.^[4]

Composition and control

Wards in Bristol after the 2010 local elections

The Council has long been dominated by the Labour Party, but recently the Liberal Democrat party has grown strong in the city and took minority control of the Council between the 2005 and 2007 elections. After the 2007 elections, the Labour, Conservative and Green parties then joined forces to oust them and install a minority Labour administration.^[6] The Lord Mayor for 2012–2013 is Liberal Democrat councillor Peter Main. In October 2008 the Liberal Democrats won a seat from Labour in a by-election caused by the death of the sitting councillor. On 24 February 2009 the minority Labour administration resigned following a defeat over plans to build an incinerator in Avonmouth,^[7] and the Liberal Democrats resumed control.

In 2009, the election resulted in the Liberal Democrats taking overall majority control of Bristol City Council for the first time. In 2010 they increased their representation to 38 seats giving them a majority of 6.^[8] In 2011, they lost their majority and the council is now hung. The 2013 local elections, in which a third of the city's wards were up for election, saw Labour gain 7 seats and the Green party double their seats from 2 to 4 while the Liberal Democrats suffered a loss of 10 seats.^[9] These trends were continued into the next election in May 2014, in which Labour gained 3 seats to take their total to 31, the Green party built on their success by winning 2 more seats, the Conservative party gained 1 seat and UKIP won their first ever seat on the council. In another damaging result, the Liberal Democrats lost a further 7 seats.^[10]

For details on the history of Bristol local politics, see History of Bristol City Council.

^[12][13]

Westminster representation

Bristol constituencies following the 2010 general election

Bristol has 4 Westminster constituencies (West, East, South and North-west), and parts of the built-up area outside the administrative city are also covered by the Filton and Bradley Stoke and Kingswood constituencies which are in South Gloucestershire.

European representation

Being in the South West England region for the European Parliament, Bristol currently elects six Members of the European Parliament. Currently, two MEPs come from the Conservative Party, two from the UK Independence Party, one from the Labour Party and one from the Green Party

The last election to the European Parliament from the South West was held on 22nd May 2014.

See also

• 2010 United Kingdom general election results in Bristol
• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Avon
• Politics of the United Kingdom
• History of local government in Bristol

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bristol City Council.

• Bristol City Council
• Parties: Conservative, Green, Labour, Liberal Democrat
• OpenlyLocal page on Bristol City Council

Video clips

• Bristol City Council YouTube channel