Labour loses overall control of Bristol council after Green surge
Both groups now have 24 councillors
Updated
Kye Dudd (pictured in focus second from the right) was the second cabinet member to lose his seat. (Image: BristolLive)
Labour has lost overall control of Bristol City Council as the “Green surge” saw the party’s new main rivals more than double their seats.
Both groups now have 24 councillors, with Labour losing nine members at the local elections, which were declared on Sunday (May 9), and the Greens gaining 13, while the Conservatives remained on 14 and the Lib Dems lost one to leave them on eight.
Last modified on Sun 9 May 2021 17.15 EDT
The co-leader of the Green party has said voters have finally come to accept his party as a credible electoral force as he marked gains from both Labour and the Conservatives in local elections.
Jonathan Bartley said the partyâs strong performance in areas such as Bristol â where it is now the joint-largest party, forcing the Labour mayor Marvin Rees into a run-off vote â showed it could no longer be dismissed as a wasted vote.
âWeâre moving from being the biggest small party to being one of the big parties,â he said. âWeâve been polling ahead of the Lib Dems and weâve seen in this election that there are no no-go areas for the Greens.â
BBC News
Published
image captionThe Greens now have as many councillors on Bristol City Council as Labour, who controlled the authority before the election
Labour has lost control of Bristol City Council, a day after the party s mayor Marvin Rees was re-elected.
The party has 24 councillors, down from 33, and was hit by Green Party gains in its heartlands, with cabinet member Afzal Shah losing his Easton seat.
The Greens also have 24 councillors, up from 11, and its ranks include an 18-year-old who helped organise Greta Thunberg s Bristol rally.
The Conservatives still have 14 seats and the Lib Dems dropped to eight.
image captionAmirah Cole said it had been a difficult day for Labour
What it is like to be a woman in local politics and why almost all mayoral candidates are men There isn t a woman in politics that hasn t been mansplained at
Updated
Dr Caroline Gooch is the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Bristol mayoral elections 2021 (Image: Bristol Liberal Democrats)
The only woman running to be the next Bristol mayor has spoken about what it is like to be a woman involved in local politics.
Dr Caroline Gooch is the Lib Dem candidate at the Bristol Mayor election on Thursday, May 6 and is facing eight rivals, all of which are men.
The medical science consultant has now spoken about why she thinks she might be the only woman running to be Bristol mayor, and how it feels.