History of Bristol City Council explained

Bristol City Council is a unitary authority and ceremonial county in England. Originally formed on 1 April 1974 as a non-metropolitan district as a result of the Local Government Act 1972 (with initial elections taking place in 1973). It was envisaged that Bristol would share power with Avon County Council, an arrangement that lasted until 1996 when it was made into a unitary authority by the Local Government Commission for England, which abolished the county of Avon and gave Bristol City Council control of Avon Council's responsibilities.

Since 2012 Bristol has had a directly elected mayor, who acts as an executive branch separate from elected councillors.

Elected mayors

The position of mayor of Bristol was created following the English mayoral referendum on 4 May 2012, in which Bristol was the only city to vote in favour of introducing an elected mayor. The first mayoral election was held in November, being won by George Ferguson.

YearPartyMayor
May 2016–presentLabourMarvin Rees
November 2012 – May 2016Independent (as Bristol 1st)George Ferguson

Council control

From 2016 all councillors are elected every four years. Prior to that, a third of the councillors were elected every year.[1]

A single party must occupy more than half of the councillor seats to have control. It is possible for a party to control the council without a majority, such as when Labour councillors dissolved their coalition with the Liberal Democrats in February 2009, leaving the Liberal Democrats to form a minority leadership.[2]

YearControlling partyNotes
2021–presentNo Overall ControlDirectly elected mayor - Labour
2016–2021LabourDirectly elected mayor - Labour
2011–2016No Overall ControlDirectly elected mayor 2012-2016 - independent
2009–2011Liberal Democrats
2003–2009No Overall Control
1986–2003LabourCouncil changed to a unitary authority in 1995.
1983–1986No Overall Control
1973–1983Labour

Council composition

See main article: Bristol City Council elections.

Year LabourConservativeLib DemsGreenUKIPIndependentNotes
December 202323145 253Zoe Goodman (Filwood) resigned from Labour over its response to what she called "the genocide in Gaza", becoming an Independent councillor.[3]
February 202324145 252Green Party candidate Patrick McAllister wins the Hotwells and Harbourside by-election following the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Alex Hartley.[4]
December 202124146 24 2Chris Davies and Gary Hopkins (both Knowle) leave the Liberal Democrats and create the Knowle Community Party.[5]
May 202124148 24
23 March 202135149 12 Jo Sergeant (Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston) joins the Green Party.[6]
12 March 202135149 11 1Jo Sergeant (Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston) resigns from the Labour Party.[7]
26 September 201936149 11 Tony Carey (Brislington East) joins the Liberal Democrats.[8]
29 August 201936148 11 1Sultan Khan (Eastville) joins the Liberal Democrats.[9]
17 July 201936147 11 2Tony Carey (Brislington East) resigns from the Conservative Party and sits as an independent.[10]
22 March 201936157 11 1Sultan Khan (Eastville) resigns from the Labour Party and sits as an independent.[11]
24 May 201837157 11 Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze by-election.
1 November 201637148 11 The Labour Party lifts the suspensions of Harriet Bradley (Brislington West) and Mike Langley (Brislington East).[12] Hibaq Jama (Lawrence Hill) is also unsuspended at a later date.
19 September 201634148 11 3The Labour Party suspends Mike Langley (Brislington East) and Hibaq Jama (Lawrence Hill).[13]
8 September 201636148 11 1The Labour Party suspends Harriet Bradley (Brislington West).[14]
May 201637148 11 Ward boundaries changed.[15]
21 May 201530169141 Fi Hance (Redland) defected from the Liberal Democrats to the Green Party.[16]
7 May 2015301610131
March 201531161661 Jason Budd (Kingsweston), formerly independent, joined the Conservative Party.[17]
May 201431151661 1
May 201328142341
September 20112214322Southmead by-election.
May 20112114332
May 20101714381
May 20091617361
October 20082413321St George West by-election triggered due to the death of one of the sitting councillors.
May 20072513311
May 20062313331
May 2005271132
May 2004311128Lawrence Hill by-election.
May 2003311128
May 2002361024
June 200140921
October 2000361024Southville by-election.
February 2000361024Lockleaze by-election.
May 1999371023Ward boundaries changed. Number of seats available increased from 68 to 70.[18]
June 199845617Ashley by-election.
May 199846616
March 199850513Cabot by-election.
June 199750513Brislington West by-election.
May 199751512
May 19955369Council changed from a non-metropolitan district to a unitary authority.
May 199441198
May 199240226
May 199145185
May 199043214
May 198839245
May 198737256
May 198635267
May 198433296City boundaries were changed but the number of seats stayed the same.[19]
May 198330326Ward boundaries changed. Number of seats available decreased from 84 to 68.[20]
May 197953283
May 197647343
June 197356253Formation of the Bristol non-metropolitan district, with 84 available seats.

Council election result maps

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Bristol all-out council elections approved by councillors . BBC News . 6 March 2013 . 12 August 2020.
  2. News: . 24 February 2009. Lib Dems take over Bristol City Council. Bristol Evening Post. 10 May 2016.
  3. News: LABOUR COUNCILLOR RESIGNS OVER PARTY’S PALESTINE POLICY. Booth. Martin. 13 December 2023. Bristol24/7. 13 December 2023.
  4. Web site: By-election Hotwells and Harbourside . Bristol City Council . 2023-02-03.
  5. News: Longstanding Lib Dem Councillors' resignations throw party into turmoil. Booth. Martin. 13 December 2021. Bristol24-7. 13 December 2021.
  6. Web site: Bristol councillor joins Greens after quitting Labour in scathing attack . Amanda . Cameron . . 2021-03-23 . 2021-05-10 . en-gb.
  7. joshop68 . Jo . Sergeant . 1370502561925566466 . I had to think carefully about publishing this but decided on balance it was the right thing to do. It’s about my experience as a member of the Labour Party and as a member of the Bristol Labour Group of councillors. It’s a bit of a long read - don’t say you weren’t warned! . 2021-03-12 . 2021-05-10.
  8. Web site: Councillor Tony Carey Joins the Lib Dem Team . Bristol Lib Dems . 2019-09-26 . 2021-05-10 . en-gb.
  9. Web site: Councillor Sultan Khan Joins Lib Dem Team . Bristol Lib Dems . 2019-08-29 . 2021-05-10 . en-gb.
  10. Web site: Brislington East councillor resigns from Tory party . Lowie . Trevena . . 2019-07-19 . 2021-05-10 . en-gb.
  11. Web site: Labour calls on Bristol councillor to resign and trigger by-election after quitting party . Kate . Wilson . 2019-03-26 . 2021-05-10 . en-gb.
  12. Web site: All but one Labour suspension lifted . Louis . Emanuel . 2016-11-01 . 2020-05-10 . en-gb.
  13. Web site: Two more Labour councillors suspended . Louis . Emanuel . 2016-09-19 . 2021-05-10 . en-gb.
  14. Web site: Labour councillor 'in the dark' over suspension . Louis . Emanuel . 2016-09-12 . 2021-05-10 . en-gb.
  15. legislation.gov.uk – The Bristol (Electoral Changes) Order 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  16. Web site: Greens gain a councillor as Lib Dem defects. Emanuel. Louis. Bristol 24/7. 22 May 2015. 9 May 2016.
  17. Web site: Bristol's only Independent councillor joins Tories. Onions. Ian. Bristol Post. 12 March 2015. 9 May 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150314231137/http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Bristol-s-Independent-councillor-joins-Tories/story-26161517-detail/story.html. 14 March 2015. dmy-all.
  18. legislation.gov.uk – The City of Bristol (Electoral Changes) Order 1998. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  19. The Bristol, Wansdyke and Woodspring (Areas) Order 1984
  20. The City of Bristol (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1980

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