The Mayor of the West of England is the directly elected mayor who leads the West of England Combined Authority. The body, a combined authority, is responsible for the strategic administration of the West of England, including planning, transport and skills. For this purpose the West of England is defined as the local authority areas of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset. The creation of the role was agreed in 2016 as part of a devolution deal, by the then Chancellor George Osborne and the leaders of the three councils.[3]
| Mayor of the West of England | |
|---|---|
 | |
.jpg) | |
| Style | Mayor[1] |
| Appointer | Electorate of the West of England |
| Term length | 4 years |
| Formation | 2017 |
| Salary | £67,000–£87,000 (four step increase 2022–2025)[2] |
The West of England Combined Authority Order 2017, which created the combined authority with effect from 9 February 2017, specifies that mayoral elections are held every fourth year, commencing on 4 May 2017.[4] Elections use the supplementary vote system, where electors can vote for "first preference" and "second preference" candidates. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, all but the two leading candidates are eliminated and the votes of those eliminated are redistributed according to their second-choice votes to determine the winner.[citation needed]
The first election on 4 May 2017 was won by Tim Bowles with a total of 70,300 votes, including second preferences. The turnout was 29.7%, with 199,519 voting out of the possible 671,280.[5]
The mayor is a member of the Mayoral Council for England and the Council of the Nations and Regions.
List of mayors
edit| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Elected | Political party | Previous and concurrent occupations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Bowles | .jpg)
|
8 May 2017 | 9 May 2021 | 2017 | Conservative | Former district councillor for Winterbourne | |
| Dan Norris |
|
10 May 2021 | incumbent | 2021 | Labour | MP for North East Somerset and Hanham as of the 2024 general election and former MP for Wansdyke from 1997 until 2010 | |
- Timeline
Elections
edit2021
edit| West of England Mayoral election 6 May 2021[6] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round | ||||
| Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | ||||
| Labour | Dan Norris | 84,434 | 33.4% | 41,048 | 125,482 | 59.5 |
| |
| Conservative | Samuel Williams | 72,415 | 28.6% | 12,974 | 85,389 | 40.5 |
| |
| Green | Jerome Thomas | 54,919 | 21.7% |
| ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Stephen Williams | 41,193 | 16.3% |
| ||||
2017
edit| West of England Mayoral election 4 May 2017[7] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round | ||||
| Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | ||||
| Conservative | Tim Bowles | 53,796 | 27.3% | 16,504 | 70,300 | 51.6 |
| |
| Labour | Lesley Mansell | 43,627 | 22.2% | 22,296 | 65,923 | 48.4 |
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Stephen Williams | 39,794 | 20.2% |
| ||||
| Independent | John Savage | 29,500 | 15.0% |
| ||||
| Green | Darren Hall | 22,054 | 11.2% |
| ||||
| UKIP | Aaron Foot | 8,182 | 4.2% |
| ||||
Turnout in the election was: 29.3%
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, s 107A(5)
- ^ Postans, Adam (4 February 2022). "West of England's Metro Mayor Dan Norris set for £20,000 pay hike". Bath Echo. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "West of England £1bn devolution deal announced in Budget". BBC News. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
- ^ "The West of England Combined Authority Order 2017". legislation.gov.uk. 8 February 2017. part 2, section 5. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
- ^ "Mayor of the West of England". BBC News. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
- ^ "West of England metro mayor election 2021: Candidates, what does the metro mayor do and everything you need to know". Bristol Live. 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ "Mayor of the West of England". BBC News. 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2021.