West of England Mayoral election results: Dan Norris named as metro mayor
The results of the West of England Mayoral election have been announced, with Dan Norris being elected to the role.
Voters in Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire went to the polls on Thursday 6 May to vote for who they wanted to become the second-ever West of England Mayor.
Tory Tim Bowles was the first person to get the job, having been elected in May 2017, but he did not stand for re-election.
Now, Labour have gained the West of England combined authority with more than 40,000 ballots over the Conservatives as Dan Norris has been voted in to the role. Scroll down for the results in full.
The new metro mayor for the West of England said: "It’s a huge honour to be elected as Metro Mayor for an amazing part of the world that I am so proud to call home. I will show the difference an active Metro Mayor makes for our region.
"This role is about collaboration and I will be a Metro Mayor who listens carefully and works cooperatively. I’m determined to hit the ground running with a Jobs and Skills summit in my first 100 days and my Green Recovery Plan.
"I also know that the pandemic has been tough and as we build back, invest in jobs and our high streets, we must learn key lessons. Together we can create a society where we keep looking out for each other and value what’s truly important."
What is the West of England Metro Mayor's role?
The West of England metro mayor heads up the West of England Combined Authority, the post was created in 2017 and this is the second election to the role.
The authority includes three local council areas - Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire. The Mayor of Bristol and the leaders of the other two councils make up the cabinet.
The West of England Mayor has power and responsibilities in three areas - transport, housing and job creation, they also have a budget of one billion pounds. However, the role mainly focuses on trying to attract investment and attention to the region as well as getting the whole region to work better together.
The mayor is someone who would be based in the region and regularly represent it at Westminster to encourage the Government and businesses to spend money developing the West or creating jobs there.
The results after round two:
Dan Norris (Labour): 125,482
Samuel Williams (Conservative): 85,389
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