News / Politics
Steve Smith is Conservative candidate for metro mayor
Former Bristol lord mayor Steve Smith has been named as the Conservatives’ candidate to be the next West of England metro mayor.
Smith represented Westbury-on-Trym & Henleaze ward as a councillor from 2018 to May when all three Tory incumbents in the ward were ousted by Lib Dems at the local elections.
He lives in Westbury-on-Trym with his family and works as a self-employed business consultant helping small firms to win government contracts, as well as volunteering with the Scouts for more than 25 years and being a trustee of two charities.
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Smith is the first official nominee to be announced for the 2025 election with Labour and Green members voting for their own candidate.
Labour members are deciding between a shortlist of three previous Bristol cabinet members who served under former mayor Marvin Rees – ex-councillors Nicola Beech and Helen Godwin, and current opposition group leader, Tom Renhard.
The Greens’ candidate will be either Bristol City Council deputy leader Heather Mack or Mary Page, who spearheaded the campaign to scrap the role of Bristol mayor.
It is unclear who the Lib Dems will put forward for the West of England Combined Authority mayor but they are likely to be from Bath & North East Somerset.
Steve Smith was lord mayor of Bristol from 2021 to 2022 – photo: Bristol City Council
Smith was officially named as the Conservatives’ contender next May following a meeting of local party members, who chose him over other candidates including former Bristol and WECA mayoral contender Samuel Williams.
During his time as a councillor, Smith sat on the WECA scrutiny committee, chaired the city council’s health overview & scrutiny committee and was lord mayor from 2021 to 2022.
He has pledged to bring “grown-up leadership back to the combined authority” and boost economic growth across the region.
Smith said he would “undo the damage” to WECA’s reputation under the leadership of Labour metro mayor Dan Norris, who will not be standing next year because he was elected as MP for North East Somerset & Hanham at July’s general election, and new Labour rules ban second jobs in elected office.
Geoff Gollop, Sharon Scott and Steve Smith all lost their seats as councillors in May with the Lib Dems winning a clean sweep in the former Tory stronghold of Westbury-on-Trym & Henleaze – photo: Steve Smith
Following his nomination, Smith said: “It’s an immense privilege to be selected as the Conservative candidate for mayor of the West of England.
“Our region has huge potential to lead in areas such as innovation, green technology and sustainable growth, but we need strong leadership to unlock that potential for everyone in our community.
“I am committed to working tirelessly to create a West of England that works for everybody, where political leaders can be trusted to work together and where the West of England is able to reach its full potential and grow our economy for everyone’s benefit.
“I am the candidate to deliver on all these priorities, and I’m hugely looking forward to meeting as many residents as possible during the campaign, listening carefully to what matters to them and turning the combined authority into what it should be – a force for good in all our lives.”
Main photo: Steve Smith
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