| Previous Year: | 2021 |
| Previous Election: | 2021 Bristol City Council election |
| Next Election: | 2028 Bristol City Council election |
| Next Year: | 2028 |
| Seats For Election: | All 70 seats to Bristol City Council |
| Majority Seats: | 36 |
| Leader1: | Emma Edwards |
| Party1: | Green Party of England and Wales |
| Last Election1: | 24 seats |
| Seats Before1: | 24 |
| Seats After1: | 34 |
| Seat Change1: | 10 |
| Popular Vote1: | 50,512 |
| Percentage1: | 41.2% |
| Swing1: | 9.4 |
| Leader2: | Tom Renhard |
| Party2: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Last Election2: | 24 seats |
| Seats Before2: | 23 |
| Seats After2: | 21 |
| Seat Change2: | 3 |
| Popular Vote2: | 38,868 |
| Percentage2: | 31.7% |
| Leader4: | Jos Clark |
| Party4: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Last Election4: | 8 seats |
| Seats Before4: | 5 |
| Seats After4: | 8 |
| Popular Vote4: | 13,359 |
| Percentage4: | 10.9% |
| Swing4: | 3.8 |
| Leader5: | Mark Weston |
| Party5: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Last Election5: | 14 seats |
| Seats Before5: | 14 |
| Seats After5: | 7 |
| Seat Change5: | 7 |
| Popular Vote5: | 17,398 |
| Percentage5: | 14.2% |
| Swing5: | 7.1 |
| Popular Vote6: | 2,594 --> |
| Mayor | |
| Posttitle: | Leader after election |
| Before Election: | Marvin Rees Labour |
| Before Party: | No overall control |
| After Election: | Tony Dyer Green |
| After Party: | No overall control |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
The 2024 Bristol City Council election was held on Thursday 2 May 2024,[1] alongside the other local elections in the United Kingdom.[2] It elected all 70 councillors to the Bristol City Council for a four-year term.
Until this election the council was led by the directly-elected Mayor of Bristol; that post was abolished following a 2022 referendum which saw 59% of voters in favour of replacing the mayoral system with a committee system. Prior to the election the council was under no overall control. The Green Party were the largest party, but the mayoralty was held by Marvin Rees of the Labour Party and all the cabinet positions were held by Labour.
Following the election the council remained under no overall control. The Greens remained the largest party and increased their number of seats, but fell two seats short of winning an overall majority. At the subsequent annual council meeting on 21 May 2024, Green councillor Tony Dyer was appointed to the re-established position of leader of the council (which had been abolished on the creation of the directly elected mayoralty in 2012). Policy committee chair positions were shared amongst the Greens and Liberal Democrats.[3] [4]
Following the previous election, which was held in 2021, the council was in no overall control, though was run by the Mayor Marvin Rees and an all Labour cabinet.[5] [6] [7] In the intervening 3 years, four by-elections occurred, seeing the Green Party gain one seat from the Liberal Democrats with no other change to the political makeup of the council.[8] [9] [10] [11]
| Party | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Party | 24 | ||
| Labour Party | 23 | ||
| Conservative Party | 14 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | 5 | ||
| Knowle Community Party | 2 | ||
| Independent | 2 | ||
| Party | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Party | 34 (+10) | ||
| Labour Party | 21* (-3) | ||
| Liberal Democrats | 8 (+3) | ||
| Conservative Party | 7 (-7) | ||
| Knowle Community Party | 0 (-2) | ||
| Independent | 0 (-2) | ||
Winning Labour candidate for Horfield, Deborah Vittori, was disqualified from holding office following the election as she was an employee of the council, being a teacher in a local authority maintained primary school. This reduced Labour seats to 20; there will be a by-election.
| Councillor | Ward | First elected | Party | Date announced | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helen Holland | Hartcliffe and Withywood | 1992 | Labour | 29 August 2023[12] | ||
| Craig Cheney | Hillfields | 2015 | Labour | 31 August 2023[13] | ||
| Nicola Beech | St George Central | 2016 | Labour | 6 September 2023[14] | ||
| Steve Pearce | St George Central | 2013 | Labour | 6 September 2023 | ||
| Asher Craig | St George West | 2016 | Labour | 9 September 2023[15] | ||
| Carla Denyer | Clifton Down | 2015 | Green | 13 November 2023[16] | ||
| Jude English | Ashley | 2016 | Independent | N/A | ||
| Mark Bradshaw | Bedminster | 2016 | Labour | N/A | ||
| Tessa Fitzjohn | Bedminster | 2021 | Green | N/A | ||
| Farah Hussain | Central | 2021 | Labour | N/A | ||
| Katy Grant | Clifton | 2021 | Green | N/A | ||
| Tom Hathway | Clifton Down | 2021 | Green | N/A | ||
| Zoe Goodman | Filwood | 2021 | Independent | N/A | ||
| Chris Jackson | Filwood | 2021 | Labour | N/A | ||
| Lesley Alexander | Frome Vale | 2011 | Conservative | N/A | ||
| Chris Windows | Henbury & Brentry | 2016 | Conservative | N/A | ||
| Philippa Hulme | Horfield | 2021 | Labour | N/A | ||
| Chris Davies | Knowle | 2003 | KCP | N/A | ||
| Hibaq Jama | Lawrence Hill | 2016 | Labour | N/A | ||
| Brenda Massey | Southmead | 2016 | Labour | N/A | ||
The Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives all stood a full slate of candidates. From these parties, alongside 1 from the Knowle Community Party, 50 incumbents stood for reelection. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition fielded 18 candidates, and the Social Democratic Party stood 2. One independent stood.[17]
In March, the Green party suspended one of its candidate in the Eastville ward following his arrest on the suspicion of handling stolen goods.[18]
|-
Each ward elects 1 to 3 councillors each, depending on the size of the electorate:[19]
James Crawford was elected in a by-election on the 24th of August 2023 after the former councillor, Lily Fitzgibbon, stood down to move from the area.
Labour candidate Deborah Vittori was disqualified from holding office following the election as she was an employee of the council, being a teacher in a local authority maintained primary school.[20]
Patrick McAllister was elected in a by-election on the 2nd of February 2023 after the previous councillor, Alex Hartley, stepped down for health reasons.
Councillors Gary Hopkins & Christopher Davies left the Liberal Democrats in December of 2021 to form the Knowle Community Party.
Kye Dudd was elected in a by-election on the 17th of February 2022 following the previous councillor, Helen Goodwin, stepping down due to time constraints with her other job.