Local elections 2024: Results across South West including Bristol, Plymouth and Swindon
Thousands of voters across the West Country have cast their ballots in the latest round of local elections.
Across the South West, voters elected councillors across eight council areas including Gloucester, Bristol and Dorset. Police and Crime Commissioners were also chosen across the whole of the West Country.
Council Elections
Across the West Country, around 300 seats were contested across eight council areas in this year's local council elections.
Although a fairly small round of elections, the results will be scrutinised by pollsters trying to predict what might happen in a general election, which is expected later this year.
Normally, councils hold elections on a four-year cycle, but most of the seats up for grabs this year were last contested in May 2021, after Covid delayed the 2020 elections.
Here are the latest results for the West Country, with updates to follow:
Devon
Exeter City Council (third of council)
The Labour Party have kept control of Exeter City Council, increasing their majority in the city.
The ruling party won 8 of the 13 seats available, to put them on 24 seats in total.
Labour gained Topsham from the Conservatives and St Thomas and Pinhoe from Independents, but lost the Newton and St Leonard's seat to the Greens and Heavitree to independent Lucy Haigh.
Council Leader Phil Bialyk retained his seat in Exwick by a comfortable margin of nearly 700 votes.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said the results show that the people of Exeter understand what Labour is trying to do.
"We are the political adults in the room," he said. "We have to look towards Exeter's future and we are not just about one issue."
The Greens gained Newton and St Leonard's from Labour and retained St David's, strengthening their position as the second biggest party on the council with 7 seats.
The Liberal Democrats also had reason to be cheerful after gaining the Duryard and St. James seat from The Labour Party, to put them on 4 seats overall.
Plymouth City Council (third of council)
Labour has retained control of Plymouth City Council, winning 15 of the 19 seats up for grabs in this year's local elections.
The council was taken over by Labour last year, but now the Conservatives have just 7 seats left following further losses overnight.
Kate Taylor, Labour councillor for Ham Ward, said it was a "fantastic" result.
"It's a real sign of what is about to happen in the general election is an absolute mauling for the Conservative Party," she said.
"We've seen Labour taking seats right across the city in both constituencies. There is now not a single Conservative councillor left in Plymouth Sutton and Devonport," she added.
Cllr Kate Taylor (Lab) reacts to the results in Plymouth
Speaking to ITV News West Country following the results, Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport Luke Pollard urged the Prime Minister to call a general election.
"It's been a brilliant night for Labour," he said. "What we've seen is people endorse and back a Labour council trying to get Plymouth back on its feet — get houses being built and help people with the cost of living crisis."
"The message is so clear. I don't think that the Prime Minister, with his head in the sand, can ignore it now - it's time to call a general election," he added.
Luke Pollard MP (Lab) urged the Prime Minister to call a general election
Reacting to the result, Johnny Mercer, Conservative MP for Plymouth Moor View said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: "Not a good night. Congratulations to all those who stood, and in particular to those who won.
"This looks bad for me. Trouble is, it's also my favourite scenario. Isolated, backs to the wall. Bring on the General Election," he added.
Meanwhile, for Leader of Plymouth City Council Tudor Evans, last night's election results were also about celebrating family success.
Cllr Evans' daughter, Jaime Bannerman, was elected Labour councillor for Peverell, following in the footsteps of her family.
Speaking after the result, Cllr Evans said he was "so proud of her for standing up for what she believes in."
"We delighted," he said. "Her mum was a councillor, her grandma was a councillor, her grandad was a councillor, and her great-grandad was a councillor, so she's part of a long tradition of public service to our city and other cities around the country."
Wiltshire
Swindon Borough Council (third of council)
The Labour Party has retained control of Swindon Borough Council, increasing their majority in the city.
Labour won 14 of the 20 seats available, making enough gains to retain control of the council which they won back for the time in 20 years in 2023.
Leader of Swindon Borough Council, Jim Robbins said he was "delighted" after the result.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: "It is humbling to receive such support and we are determined to build the fairer, greener, better Swindon that the residents deserve."
Gloucestershire
Cheltenham Borough Council (whole council)
The Liberal Democrats have retained control of Cheltenham Borough Council.
The borough council was dominated by the Liberal Democrats prior to the election, with 31 councillors.
The party has wiped out the final 4 Tory councillors, with a spokesperson saying "the Conservatives are now extinct in Cheltenham".
Gloucester City Council (whole council)
The Conservatives lost control of Gloucester in the last result to be declared on Friday night.
The party lost 10 seats, with Labour gaining five, the Lib Dems three and independents two.
The new council is Lib Dem 17, Conservative 11, Labour seven and independents four.
Gloucester’s parliamentary seat has often been seen as a bellwether for general elections. It has been held by Conservative Richard Graham since 2010, and at the last general election he had a majority of 10,277.
Stroud District Council (whole council)
The Conservatives lost control of Stroud to The Greens who won with 22 seats, followed by Labour with 20, Conservatives with 7 and the Liberal Democrats with 2.
It means The Greens have become the biggest party in Stroud for the first time.
Avon and Somerset
Bristol City Council (whole council)
The Greens fell narrowly short of taking overall control of Bristol, one of their top targets, despite gaining 10 seats.
The party now has 34 of the 70, with Labour on 21 after losing two, Lib Dems on eight after gaining three and the Conservatives on seven after losing seven.
Cllr Emma Edwards, leader of the Green Group said: “Today, people across Bristol have demonstrated that they want change in how our city is run. Politics in Bristol will change from today."
Dorset
Dorset Council (whole council)
Liberal Democrats took Dorset from the Conservatives after gaining 15 seats.
The party now has 42 of the 82 seats on the council, with Conservatives on 30 after losing 13.
There are four independents, four Greens and two Labour councillors.
Dorset is the first Lib Dem council gain from the Conservatives of this election.
Police and Crime Commissioners
There were five police and crime commissioner elections across the South West this year.
Last elected in 2021, police and crime commissioners oversee policing within their police force area and aim to "cut crime" and "deliver an effective and efficient service."
They are chosen by the public to hold the Chief Constable to account and aim to ensure the force is answerable to the communities they serve.
Here are the latest results for the West Country, with updates to follow:
Avon and Somerset
The Labour Party have won the police and crime commissioner election for Avon and Somerset, taking the post from the Conservatives.
Clare Moody, the region's Labour candidate, beat her Conservative predecessor Mark Shelford by more than 4,000 votes, becoming the first Labour candidate to be elected into the role since it was created.
Speaking to ITV News West Country, she said: "I know I am the first Labour candidate to be elected for this area and that's a privilege, and I also recognise that it's a responsibility."
Ms Moody, who was an MEP for South West England between 2014 and 2019, said tackling knife crime will be one of her biggest priorities in her new role but will "take time."
"It is a huge issue and it has an impact beyond the consequences of the terrible actions we've seen," she said. "It's a complex problem and requires a complex response."
She added: "A lot of it is about prevention work. It's about working with young people in schools and reinforcing youth services, as well as providing alternative routes so we avoid the situation in the first place."
Ms Moody said tackling knife crime will be one of her biggest priorities
Ms Moody said she also hopes to make policing more visible within communities.
"By building neighbourhood policing, you're building trust in the police," she said.
"Those connections will help to prevent problems and will be about creating a positive policing agenda - that the police are the community and the community are the police," added Ms Moody.
Conservative Alison Hernandez has been re-elected as Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner
Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
Conservative candidate Alison Hernandez has been re-elected as Devon and Cornwall's Police and Crime Commissioner.
She had 131,764 votes, with a majority of 23,867 over Daniel Steel (Labour and Co-operative) who received 107,897 votes.
Steve Lodge (Liberal Democrat) received 64,790 votes.
A total of 308,607 votes were cast in the vote – equivalent to a 22.5 per cent turnout.
The turnout in 2021 when the last PCC election was held was 494,627 or 36.1 per cent of the electorate.
Ms Hernandez begins a third term, having done the job since 2016.
“I am delighted to be asked by residents of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to serve another term,” she said.
“Much has been achieved since I was first elected to office in 2016 but there remains more to be done. Policing has changed and the threats to our safety and security have developed over the years.
“I want to ensure our communities feel that the police are by their side, care about the things they care about and are motivated and resourced to tackle the problems they experience.”
She told ITV News her priorities for her third term in office will include anti-social behaviour, 'more police on the streets', reopening police stations and dealing with addiction.
Gloucestershire
Conservative Chris Nelson has been re-elected as the county's police and crime commissioner, with a total of 47,838 votes.
Martin Surl from the Lib Dems followed with 46,352 votes, followed then by Ashley Smith, Labour, with 35,069 votes and Matthew Randolph, Independent, with 15,240 votes.
The total number of verified ballot papers was 146,347. The turnout was 29.5%, well below 2021 when it was 40.9%.
Wiltshire
In Wiltshire, Conservative Philip Wilkinson was re-elected as the county's police and crime commissioner, with a total of 38,578 votes.
Stanka Adamcova (Labour and Co-operative) followed with 36,345 votes, followed then by Mike Rees (Independent) with 29,035, followed by Alan Hagger (Liberal Democrats) with 20,485 votes.
Turnout for the PCC election across Wiltshire and Swindon was 22.72%.
In a statement, Chief Constable Catherine Roper said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Philip Wilkinson on being re-elected as the Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon.
“I look forward to continuing to work with the PCC and his team to deliver his Police and Crime Plan, and ensure that together we are ‘Keeping Wiltshire Safe’.”
Dorset
In Dorset, Conservative David Sidwick has been confirmed as the Police and Crime Commissioner leading with 57,994 votes.
He was followed by Liberal Democrat, Howard Legg with 34,774 votes, followed by Independent Marianne Storey with 32,237 votes, followed by Labour and Co-operative David Stokes with 26,884 votes.
The turnout for the Dorset PCC election was 25.96%.
Mayoral Elections
There were no regional mayors up for election in the West Country.
In 2022, voters in Bristol decided to scrap its directly elected mayor following a referendum.
From 2024, the city will have a committee system with a council leader at City Hall.