Bristol City Council
The momentum created by the Green Party in the 2021 Bristol elections continued in 2024 with impressive results that left them on the cusp of outright control. The test for the Greens was whether the ‘Green Belt’ of seats spanning the city’s inner urban core could expand, touching areas that had never voted for the party before.
The answer? Yes, it did with an eastern sprawl into St George West and St George Central—the former seat of Nicola Beech, previous Cabinet Member for Planning and secured an unexpected victory in Knowle, unseating former Lib-Dem group leader Gary Hopkins.
For Labour, this result was close to disastrous, as big gains were achieved nationwide. Silver linings were in short supply, but Labour routed the Tories in Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston, retained their single seat in Bedminster (unexpectedly), and, for the first time in the 21st century, won one seat in Tory Bishopsworth.
However, any ambition the party had of compensating for Green losses in long-standing Tory suburbs, like Henbury and Stockwood, turned to dust.
Former Bristol MP Stephen Williams dramatically returned to public office as one of three new Lib-Dem councillors comfortably winning in Westbury-On-Trym and Henleaze. The trio’s scalps included long- standing Tory councillor Geoff Gollop whose group is now roughly the size it was in 1997 – the scene of Tony Blair’s election landslide.
What more do the Greens need to win outright control next time? Simple. Move into Bristol’s north and south suburbs. For Labour, planning a fightback is more complex. Holding the Mayoralty for eight years with all its ups and downs may be part of the disappointment.
But cue head-scratching asking, ‘Just how did Labour’s unassailable support in Bristol’s four parliamentary constituencies get converted into nearly a Green council during a (unpopular) Tory government?’
