News / Politics
Ex-MP to stand for council election
Stephen Williams has not had the best run in recent elections.
The Liberal Democrat politician lost his parliamentary seat of Bristol West in the 2015 General Election, stood in 2017 in the seat he had held for a decade and came fourth, and in the same year failed to be elected for the newly created role of West of England metro mayor.
Most recently, he was an unsuccessful candidate in the European elections of 2019.
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But he is now back for more, standing as a council candidate for the Hotwells & Harbourside ward in May’s local elections.
It could be a return to local politics for the 53-year-old, who before entering the House of Commons represented Cabot ward on Avon County Council and later Bristol City Council, where he was leader of the Lib Dem group.
As an MP at Westminster, Williams helped to introduce a ban on smoking in public places and served as parliamentary under secretary of state for communities and local government, where he was warned several years before the Grenfell Tower tragedy that fire regulations were not keeping people safe but failed to act on the advice.
Williams is hoping to win the Hotwells & Harbourside seat currently held by his Lib Dem colleague Mark Wright, who is standing down as a councillor after 15 years and four terms.
The former MP thanked Wright “for his great service to local residents and to the city”.
He added: “There’s always something going on in Hotwells, Harbourside and Brandon Hill and I look forward to working with residents to defend their interests on issues such as major developments planned for the Cumberland Basin, the Clean Air Zone and the many other planning and transport issues that impact their lives.”
Main photo by Stephen Williams
Read more: Lib Dem Stephen Williams’ fighting talk
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