Choices, choices, choices - Your guide to elections on Thursday 6 May 2021
Thursday 6th May we have four elections happening:
West of England Mayor
Bristol Mayor
Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner
Lockleaze Ward Councillors (or other ward councillor if you don’t live in Lockleaze!)
The West of England Mayor (also sometimes called the Metro Mayor) looks after the area covered by Bristol, Bath, North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire and makes decisions on issues such as transport, planning and housing, business support and job creation. There are four candidates standing, you vote for a first and a second choice candidate. You can read more about the candidates in the booklet here and you can watch a debate on BBC points west here
The Bristol Mayor, unsurprisingly looks after the City of Bristol looks after Bristol roads, parking, some other issues related to transport, adult social care, children centres, SEN provision, fostering, libraries, parks, Council housing, houses built in Bristol, leisure centres, air and water quality in Bristol and other Bristol bits and bobs. There are 9 candidates to choose from and you can select your first and second choice. More details on the voting system and the candidates can be found in the booklet here , also Bristol Live facebook are hosting a hustings (event where candidates debate and answer questions) at 5pm Thursday 29th April.
Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner - The role of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) is to be the voice of local people in policing and to hold the Chief Constable to account. There are five candidates to choose from, and you can vote for a first and second choice candidate. A list of the candidates can be found here and Bristol247 did a nice summary of the candidates here to help you decide you to vote for.
Lockleaze Ward Councillors are your local representatives in Bristol City Council, they provide a buffer between the Council and citizens of Lockleaze, sharing information from the Council to help spread the word in Lockleaze, taking up residents concerns and helping them get answers with Bristol City Council, considering whether Council activity is in the best interest of Lockleaze and advocating for local residents and businesses to support a thriving Lockleaze. There are 9 candidates standing for this election (listed here), and 2 will be elected as Councillors. There is a hustings, organised by local resident Merriel Waggoner with an independent chair, for you to hear about each of the candidates and ask them questions on Tuesday 4th May at 7pm. The meeting is on Zoom, and Lockleaze residents can sign in using ID: 959 3721 4829 Passcode: E1ZHhb you can email questions in advance to lockleazehustings@gmail.com
This is your big powerful moment when you get to decide who is in charge. In 2016 out of the 8585 Lockleaze residents on the electoral role 40% turned out to vote. People sometimes complain that Lockleaze is the ‘forgotten estate’ but when you don’t vote, it makes it easy for the people in charge to forget about you - because you have decided not to use your voice. Elections are not the only way our voices are heard but they are one of the most stark, and there is a long history of people who have fought and died so we (not just landed gentry, not just men) have the privilege of having our voice heard. So if you don’t want to be ignored, get down to the ballot box on Thursday 6 May and make your vote count. If you dislike all the candidates then you can always spoil your ballot paper - draw a picture, write a poem; it won’t count for a candidate but you will be standing up to be counted, and next time stand in an election so there is a candidate you like.