News / Bristol
General election 2015: Bristol candidates
The full list of candidates in Bristol’s four parliamentary constituencies has been announced.
Apart from Bristol South MP Dawn Primarolo, who announced back in 2011 that she would be standing down, all the incumbent MPs are standing again.
Bristol East
is needed now More than ever
Bristol East is one of a key handful of Labour seats in the West Country.
The constituency has gone through various boundary changes since its creation in 1885.
In 1983 the Bristol East constituency was reinstated. The sitting MP for Bristol South East, Tony Benn, famously lost the seat to the conservative Jonathan Sayeed. Labour won it back in 1992 and Kerry McCarthy has held the seat since 2005.
At the 2010 election she had a 3,700 majority and Labour consider this a relatively safe seat.
2015 General Election candidates
Theo Clarke – Conservative
Lorraine Francis – Green
Matt Gordon – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Abdul Malik – Liberal Democrats
Kerry McCarthy – Labour
James McMurray – UKIP
Bristol West 
One of Bristol’s most diverse constituencies, Bristol West has been one of the more difficult seats to predict since Labour’s Valerie Davey won the previously solid Conservative seat from William Waldegrave in 1997.
In 2010 the seat was held by the Liberal Democrats, Stephen Williams winning for the second time and taking a decisive 48 per cent of the votes.
The Greens have declared this seat a target and it could make for one of Bristol’s more exciting election night battles.
2015 General Election candidates
Thangam Debbonaire – Labour
Darren Hall – Green
Claire Hiscott – Conservative
Dawn Parry – Independents for Bristol
Paul Turner – UKIP
Stewart Weston – Left Unity
Stephen Williams – Liberal Democrats
Bristol South
The constituency has elected Labour MPs since 1935, but present incumbent Dawn Primarolo, who has held the seat since 1987, is stepping down this year.
So who is waiting in the wings and will Bristol South remain Labour?
2015 General Election candidates
Tom Baldwin – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Tony Dyer – Green
Isobel Grant – Conservative
Karin Smyth – Labour
Steve Wood – UKIP
Mark Wright – Liberal Democrats
Bristol North West
Bristol North West could be a close call and the constituency is often held-up as a long standing bellwether seat, having elected the candidate of the winning party in the nine general elections since October 1974.
Charlotte Leslie has represented Bristol North West since 2010.
2015 General Election Candidates
Clare Campion-Smith – Liberal Democrats
Michael Frost – UKIP
Darren Jones – Labour
Anne Lemon – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Charlotte Leslie – Conservative
Justin Quinnell – Green
More information on candidates and full list of polling stations
More information about constituencies and the General Election