Calls for metro mayor election to be postponed so North Somerset can join WECA

The metro mayor election should be postponed to give more time for North Somerset to join the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), cross-party councillors demand.

They say it might be the only way to get the two warring sides together for talks on the issue that has splintered the regional partnership.

Last month, metro mayor Tim Bowles and the leaders of South Gloucestershire, Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) and North Somerset councils accused Bristol mayor Marvin Rees of “putting party politics before doing the right thing for the region” by blocking WECA’s expansion.

In response, Labour’s Rees said he was disappointed “an ongoing internal debate” had been made public and that he did support North Somerset joining but only when the Government put in place “a clear financial offer that benefits Bristol and the West of England economy”.

On November 25 Bristol city councillors passed a motion backing North Somerset’s inclusion but an amendment by the ruling Labour group removed the deadline for the necessary public consultation, which Tories and Lib Dems claimed “kicked the issue into the long grass” for at least another four years.

North Somerset councils accused Bristol mayor Marvin Rees of “putting party politics before doing the right thing for the region”. Photo: Josh Rundle

Under devolution legislation, a combined authority cannot change its boundaries mid-term between metro mayoral elections because any new district would not have had a say in the vote.

Calls have now been made at a WECA overview and scrutiny committee meeting for the election in May 2021 to be pushed back until an agreement on North Somerset joining is reached.

It follows a letter signed by all committee members – including Labour, Conservatives, Lib Dems, Greens and independents – to the mayors and council leaders urging them to hurry up and sort it out.

They wrote: “We understand that if this issue cannot be resolved urgently then North Somerset will not be able to join WECA until 2025 at the earliest and this is not acceptable.

“Therefore, we ask that all parties meet to discuss this urgently and try and ensure that our region has the ability to speak with one voice when decisions are being made by central government that impact on all our citizens.”

B&NES Lib Dem councillor Winston Duguid told the meeting on Wednesday, December 2: “I see us getting to the stage in the near future where we should be demanding a postponement in the metro mayoral election until this matter is resolved.”

B&NES Lib Dem councillor Hal McFie said: “I would support that. We need to say something very positive and the idea is that we actually put the election on hold.”

Bristol Lib Dem councillor Gary Hopkins said: “While postponing the election is not a good option, if that’s the only one we’re left with, we would have to support that.

“I raised this with senior officers in Bristol who made it clear they would not support that so I didn’t feel it could actually happen.”

WECA’s scrutiny meeting in December 2020. Image: WECA

Committee chairman, Bristol Green councillor Stephen Clarke said he could not put “such a big recommendation” to the main WECA committee on Friday, November 4 because all the facts and options were not known and they had not discussed it in enough detail.

Bristol Labour councillor Mhairi Threlfall said she was also not happy that the scrutiny committee formally suggested a postponement because she still felt “really uninformed”.

She said: “It’s all too complex. We really need all the information and have a proper discussion on this, and if that does turn out to be the only option then that would make the statement (from the scrutiny committee) but we need to do due diligence.

“We really need to reiterate on Friday the urgency of the leaders and mayors getting together and having this conversation.”

Bristol Conservative councillor Geoff Gollop said: “The issue about deferring the election is too complex for us to be certain it’s a solution but on the other hand I don’t see it as a problem to suggest that might be one of the options considered to resolve this. There appears to be collective agreement that we don’t want to leave this for four years.”

North Somerset Lib Dem councillor Huw James said: “It would be an absolute travesty if we couldn’t join, given we’re in the middle of a pandemic and an employment crisis, and we could all benefit if we do join.

“The leaders need to meet with urgency to address the challenges rather than stomping off.”

Adam Postans is a local democracy reporter for Bristol.

Main photo: Joab Smith

Read more: North Somerset faces ‘four-year wait’ to join WECA