2021 West of England Mayoral Election

On Thursday 6th May 2021, there will be an election to decide who will be the new West of England Combined Authority (Weca) mayor. The election will be held across the Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire council areas.

The inaugural West of England mayoral election was held on 4th May 2017.

The current mayor, Tim Bowles (Conservative), announced in November 2020 that he would not be standing for re-election in 2021.

Useful links:

West of England devolution deal (HM Treasury)
The West of England Combined Authority Order 2017
West of England Combined Authority
Mayoral Election 2021 (Weca)

The Notice of Election was published on Monday 22nd March 2021 (see below) and nominations will be accepted until the deadline on Thursday 8th April 2021.

The deadline for voter registration is Monday 19th April 2021. If you are unsure whether you are registered to vote, please contact the SGC helpline on 01454 863030.

Where to vote

Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm.

Your allocated polling station is shown on your poll card, which you should have received by post.

However, you don’t need your poll card to vote. If you are registered to vote, but you don’t have your poll card, you can go to the polling station and give them your name and address.

Find your polling station (Where Do I Vote)

Notices

9th April 2021: Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll
22nd March 2021: Notice of Election

The role

The Regional Mayor leads the West of England Combined Authority and makes decisions on issues that impact people living and working across the region, including, transport, homes, business, jobs and the economy.

The West of England Combined Authority also leads on the recovery plan for the region, to make sure that the right support and infrastructure is in place for residents and businesses to drive the region’s recovery.

The candidates

Find out more about the candidates: Candidate Questions & Answers (reproduced from the May 2021 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine)

A mayoral booklet listing information about the election and a statement from each of the candidates was delivered by post to all electors in mid-April.

The voting system

This election uses the supplementary voting system. You will have two votes – one for your first-choice candidate and one, if you wish, for your second-choice candidate.

Determining the winner

All the first choices are counted, and if one candidate has received more than 50 percent of the votes, that candidate wins the election.

If no candidate has more than 50 percent of the vote:

The two candidates with the most first-choice votes remain in the election and all other candidates are eliminated.
The ballot papers for the eliminated candidates are then checked. Any second-choice votes for the two remaining candidates are added to their first-round totals. The candidate with the most votes wins.

The result

The election count will take place on Saturday 8th May.

The declaration will be live-streamed via the West of England Combined authority’s YouTube channel.

If a candidate has more than 50 percent of the votes, the declaration is expected around lunchtime on Saturday 8th May. If the count goes to a second round, the declaration is expected around mid-afternoon.

Turnout: 36.61%

For updates on the count and result, visit: