REFORM UK topped the poll in South Gloucestershire at yesterday’s West of England mayoral election.
Outspoken businessman and Brexit campaign donor Arron Banks (above, right) was more than 7,000 votes ahead of Labour’s Helen Godwin (above, left) when votes from the district were counted overnight.
Conservative Steve Smith, who finished fourth overall, also received more votes than Labour in South Gloucestershire, where the Tories have the most council seats.
Mr Smith had campaigned heavily in the district on proposals to build on the Green Belt as part of South Gloucestershire Council’s Local Plan.
But Ms Godwin won the overall race after receiving the most votes in Bristol, where she was more than 12,000 votes ahead of Mr Banks, and coming second to Liberal Democrat Oli Henman in B&NES, where she was 178 votes ahead of the Reform candidate.
Bristol was the only council that overall winner Labour won at the council level — with the Green Party close behind.
Bristol is the most populous area in the combined authority, and makes up just under half of all the people who live (and vote) in the West of England.
Political diversity
Each council area was won by a different party, underlining the political diversity of the region.
The Liberal Democrats won their heartland in B&NES, where Oli Henman is a councillor, with Labour, Reform, and the Conservatives all within 250 votes of each other.
However in South Gloucestershire, where the Lib Dems are the senior party in a coalition with Labour, they were squeezed into fourth place.
Ian Scott, who stood as an independent after failing to make the final shortlist for the Labour nomination and accusing the party of discrimination, was last in all three districts and lost his £5,000 deposit after receiving less than 5% of the overall vote.
The breakdown was:
South Gloucestershire
- Arron Banks (Reform UK) 19,446
- Steve Smith (Conservative) 14,235
- Helen Godwin (Labour) 12,442
- Oli Henman (Lib Dem) 9,137
- Mary Page (Green) 7,392
- Ian Scott (Independent) 2,051
A total of 64,703 valid votes were cast in South Gloucestershire – a turnout of 30.08%
Bristol
- Helen Godwin (Labour) 29,991
- Mary Page (Green) 27,452
- Arron Banks (Reform UK) 17,220
- Steve Smith (Conservative) 11,335
- Oli Henman (Lib Dem) 9,632
- Ian Scott (Independent) 1,890
A total of 97,520 valid votes were cast in Bristol – a turnout of 29.98%
Bath and North East Somerset
- Oli Henman (Lib Dem) 9,942
- Helen Godwin (Labour) 8,764
- Arron Banks (Reform UK) 8,586
- Steve Smith (Conservative) 8,522
- Mary Page (Green) 6,250
- Ian Scott (Independent) 741
A total of 42,805 valid votes were cast. The turnout was 30.4%
Overall result
- Helen Godwin (Labour): 51,197
- Arron Banks (Reform UK): 45,252
- Mary Page (Green): 41,094
- Steve Smith (Conservative): 34,092
- Oli Henman (Lib Dem): 28,711
- Ian Scott (Independent): 4,682
A total of 205,028 valid votes were cast. The turnout was 30%.
Ms Godwin told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It was always going to be close; we knew that.”
By John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporting Service