VOTERS will go to the polls on Thursday May 2 to elect new members of Bristol City Council.
All 70 seats are up for grabs in an election which has extra significance, since the abolition of the city’s elected mayor means councillors will once again be taking all policy decisions.
While Labour has been in control of the council through elected mayor Marvin Rees since 2016, the Greens have been the biggest party in the council chamber since early last year.
If no one party wins the total of 36 seats required for an overall majority, deals will need to be made over who runs the council via the returning committee system, which is replacing the mayor and cabinet.
Taking place on the same day is the election for the Avon & Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner.
Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm. Voters need to bring photo ID – for more details see the council’s website
Eastville
EASTVILLE ward covers Fishponds Road and streets on either side of it, from the junction with Stapleton Road up to Hockeys Lane and Channons Hill.
It includes Eastville Park; Greenbank Cemetery; the areas of Stapleton around Colston’s School; roads around Small Lane, south of Blackberry Hill; Thingwall Park; Royate Hill, Rose Green, Clay Bottom and Clay Hill. To the south it extends to parts of Speedwell north of Speedwell Road, including streets on either side of Brook Road and Whitefield Road.
At the last election, in 2021, Labour’s Marley Bennett and Green Lorraine Francis each won a seat. They are both standing for re-election.
Candidates:
* Marley Bennett (LAB)
Paul Boobyer (CON)
* Lorraine Francis (GRN)
Ed Fraser (GRN)
Annabel Griffiths (TUSC)
Timothy Hobbs (LD)
Elaine Iffland (CON)
Mike Luff (TUSC)
Mohammad Rashid (LD)
Teresa Stratford (LAB)
Frome Vale
FROME Vale ward covers an area including Oldbury Court and Broomhill.
Bounded by the M32 in the north west, it includes streets north and east of Blackberry Hill and Snowdon Road, and those either side of Fishponds Road between Hockeys Lane and the Cross Hands.
The ward also includes part of Stapleton, around Duchess Way, and streets either side of Frenchay Road, Downend Road and Frenchay Park Road, up to the South Gloucestershire boundary.
In 2021 Labour and the Conservatives won a seat each.
Tory Lesley Alexander is retiring, while Labour’s Amal Ali is standing in Lawrence Hill, which means both seats will have new councillors this year.
Candidates:
Al Al-Maghrabi (LAB)
Rochelle Amos (LD)
Keith Fenner (LD)
Brian Healy (TUSC)
Jen Law (GRN)
Gabrielle Lobb (GRN)
Louis Martin (LAB)
Pooja Poddar (CON)
Tulsidas Poddar (CON)
Tommy Trueman (SDP)
Hillfields
HILLFIELDS ward covers the Hillfields estate as well as Mayfield Park and Chester Park.
It includes all streets leading off Lodge Causeway, Lodge Hill and Lodge Road, from the parts of Ridgeway Road east of the Bristol and Bath Railway Path to the streets surrounding Cossham Hospital, up to Ingleside Road and the boundary with South Gloucestershire.
Filwood Road and Forest Road are also in the Hillfields ward.
At the last election in 2021 both seats were won by Labour. Cabinet councillor Ellie King will defend her seat in May, while Craig Cheney is stepping down.
Candidates:
Rory Adamson (CON)
Deborah Bishop (LD)
Kelvin Blake (LAB)
Enrico Corradi (CON)
Jon Eccles (GRN)
* Ellie King (LAB)
Rick Lovering (GRN)
Dan Smart (TUSC)
Sarah Spilsbury (LD)
Key: * – sitting councillor seeking re-election; CON – Conservative; GRN – Green; LAB – Labour; LD – Liberal Democrats; SDP – Social Democratic Party; TUSC – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.