News / Politics
By-election to take place as councillor steps down
A Lib Dem councillor has resigned after just 18 months due to struggles with his mental health.
It means that a by-election will take place in Hotwells & Harbourside ward, which has the unusual distinction of being represented by only one councillor.
It is the smallest ward in Bristol, stretching from the Cumberland Basin in the west to the Cascade Steps in the east, and encompassing Brandon Hill, Spike Island and College Green.
is needed now More than ever
Hotwells & Harbourside ward stretches from the Cumberland Basin to the Cascade Steps – map: Bristol City Council
In a letter to residents of the ward, Alex Hartley said he stepped down as the ward’s councillor on Friday.
“It has been the honour of my life to represent you,” Hartley wrote.
“However, over the last year, I feel I have not been able to serve you to the best of my ability, and feel that I owe you a sincere apology.”
Hartley is employed full time by the Lib Dems, and previously worked as a pub manager and in IT recruitment.
In his letter, he revealed that he was diagnosed with manic depression and anxiety in late 2021.
“The demands of being a new councillor in a single member ward with many active issues and campaigns, alongside battling my mental health problems and working a second job has unfortunately become too much.”
The under-threat Central Library is one of the polling stations in Hotwells & Harbourside ward – photo: Bristol24/7
Former Bristol West MP Stephen Williams has already been confirmed as standing for the Lib Dems in the by-election, which is likely to take place in early 2023.
In the last local elections in May 2021, Hartley won 651 votes, with Heulwen Flower of the Green Party a close second with 625 votes, Labour’s Henry Palmer third withy 496 votes and Julian Ellacott of the Conservative Party fourth with 182 votes.
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read next:
- Ward profiles 2021: Hotwells & Harbourside
- Floating Harbour freezes over for first time in years
- Petition launched to save Central Library
- Drivers could be fined on dangerous roads as council gets new powers
- ‘The lovelocks on Pero’s Bridge are an insult to Pero’s memory’
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