| Election Name: | 2016 Bristol City Council election |
| Country: | England |
| Type: | Parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Party Colour: | yes |
| Previous Election: | 2015 Bristol City Council election |
| Previous Year: | 2015 |
| Next Election: | 2021 Bristol City Council election |
| Next Year: | 2021 |
| Seats For Election: | All 70 seats to Bristol City Council |
| Majority Seats: | 36 |
| Election Date: | 5 May 2016 |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Seats1: | 37 |
| Seat Change1: | 7 |
| Popular Vote1: | 99,018 |
| Percentage1: | 36.6 |
| Swing1: | 5.8 |
| Party2: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Seats2: | 14 |
| Seat Change2: | 2 |
| Popular Vote2: | 60,080 |
| Percentage2: | 22.2 |
| Swing2: | 1.0 |
| Party3: | Green Party of England and Wales |
| Seats3: | 11 |
| Seat Change3: | 2 |
| Popular Vote3: | 53,712 |
| Percentage3: | 19.9 |
| Swing3: | 4.8 |
| Party4: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Seats4: | 8 |
| Seat Change4: | 2 |
| Popular Vote4: | 45,811 |
| Percentage4: | 16.9 |
| Swing4: | 3.9 |
| Party5: | UK Independence Party |
| Seats5: | 0 |
| Seat Change5: | 1 |
| Popular Vote5: | 6,828 |
| Percentage5: | 2.5 |
| Swing5: | 6.0 |
| Council control | |
| Posttitle: | Council control after election |
| Before Election: | No Overall Control |
| After Election: | Labour Party (UK) |
The 2016 Bristol City Council election took place on Thursday 5 May 2016, alongside nationwide local elections. Following a boundary review, the number of wards in the city was reduced to 34, with each electing one, two or three Councillors.[1] The overall number of Councillors remained 70, with all seats up for election at the same time. Elections would then be held every 4 years.[2]
The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats contested all 70 seats. The Green Party stood 59 candidates, TUSC 18, UKIP 10 and the Wessex Regionalists 1. There were also 8 Independent candidates.[3]
Voters in the city were also voting in the 2016 Bristol Mayoral Election and the election for Avon and Somerset's Police and Crime Commissioner. Turnout across the city was high, with many wards recording over 50% turnout, and none recording less than 25%.[4] Labour won a number of new seats and gained overall control of the council, whilst all other parties lost seats. UKIP lost their only Councillor.
This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:
| valign=top colspan="2" style="width: 230px" | Party | valign=top style="width: 30px" | Previous council | valign=top style="width: 30px" | New council | valign=top style="width: 30px" | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | align=center | 30 | align=center | 37 | align=center | 7 | |
| Conservatives | align=center | 16 | align=center | 14 | align=center | 2 | |
| Greens | align=center | 13 | align=center | 11 | align=center | 2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | align=center | 10 | align=center | 8 | align=center | 2 | |
| UKIP | align=center | 1 | align=center | 0 | align=center | 1 | |
| TUSC | align=center | 0 | align=center | 0 | align=center | 0 | |
| Wessex Regionalists | align=center | 0 | align=center | 0 | align=center | 0 | |
| Independent | align=center | 0 | align=center | 0 | align=center | 0 | |
| Total | 70 | 70 | |||||
| Working majority | |||||||
Prior to the election the composition of the council was:
| 30 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 1 | |
| Labour | Conservative | Green | Lib Dem | U |
After the election the composition of the council was:
| 37 | 14 | 11 | 8 | |
| Labour | Conservative | Green | Lib Dem |
*On 22 April 2016, it was announced that Satnam Singh had been suspended from the Labour Party for failing to disclose prior convictions for selling illegal tobacco and drugs. As the nominations process had already been completed, it was too late for Labour to nominate a new candidate or withdraw Mr Singh from the ballot.[5]