About Bristol West

About Bristol West Parliamentary Constituency

It is very difficult to categorise Bristol West voters: its electorate is a diverse, vibrant community, ranging from the leafy central suburbs of Redland and Clifton to the multicultural electorates of St Pauls, and now Easton. In the past two decades, Bristol West parliamentary constituency has had MPs from three different parties. It was for long regarded as a 'weather vane' 3-way marginal constituency, with the Greens making steady progress.

However, the boundaries of Bristol West are now considerably different: the traditionally Tory voting wards of Westbury-on-Trym, Henleaze and Stoke Bishop have been transferred to Bristol North West parliamentary constituency, whilst the strongly Green voting wards of Easton and Lawrence Hill have now become part of Bristol West for the first time. These new boundary changes mean that it is virtually impossible for the Conservatives ever to win Bristol West again.  But the strongly Green voting wards of Ashley, Bishopston, Cabot, Clifton, Cotham, and Redland in Bristol West all remain within the redrawn constituency, along with Clifton East, as well as being joined now by Easton and Lawrence Hill.

The Green Party in Bristol West

Bristol West parliamentary constituency is part of Bristol North Green Party. Our policies are generally agreed city-wide. With your help, we will get more Green councillors on the City Council this May.

The Green Party was very active in Bristol West in last year's General Election, with leafleting and newspapers throughout the constituency, from Easton to Clifton, Bishopston to Cabot, Redland to Ashley, Cotham to Lawrence Hill; and street stalls regularly in Clifton, Bishopston, Redland, Easton, College Green, Broadmead, and the Centre, as well as various other events.

The Green vote has been rising steadily at every election. In the 2009 local elections, the Greens gained 22% of the vote in the wards that now make up Bristol West, second behind the Liberal Democrats, and we also beat both Labour and Conservatives in the constituency in the 2009 European election as well.

We urge you to vote strongly in favour of changing our voting system to the Alternative Vote (AV) in the referendum on 5th May. Whilst we do not support AV because it is not a proportional system, at least under AV you will be able to vote for your true preference whilst having a second choice which will count in the event of your first choice (Green!) failing to win. We believe this is at least a step in the right direction, and so the Green Party will be voting 'YES' to this change

The Green Party is the only party you can trust to deliver true social justice with respect for the environment we live in.

We are completely against the green spaces proposals of the ruling Liberal Democrats on Bristol City Council, who seem determined to sell off our parks and green spaces. We also totally oppose the Coalition Government's proposals to sell off what remains of our publicly owned forests.   

We will promote the green industries that will deliver jobs, including sustainable energy generation and waste management.

We will fight for an efficient, integrated and affordable public transport system.

We will continue to support full publicly funded services in health and education. We seek to change the crazy policy, through the private finance initiative (PFI), of making us pay £63 billion for hospitals that should have cost only £11 billion if built directly with public money. Begun by Labour, this policy of privatisation is being taken even further by the Conservative-Lib Dem Coalition (rightly dubbed the 'ConDem' coalition) with their determination to make all schools 'academies' under the Academies Act 2010 which will deny many kids the opportunity to attend a local school and favours the well-off. Labour began the privatisation of the NHS with PFI and 'foundation' hospitals, and the new ConDem Government has taken it much further with their Health and Social Care Bill which seeks to drive health care provision into the arms of waiting private health care companies. It will change the NHS forever - well over 80% of doctors and nurses oppose this creeping privatisation which could lead to destruction of the NHS. Stephen Williams, Bristol West's current Liberal Democrat MP, voted for both of these Bills aimed at privatising the NHS and education, along with the Conservative MPs for Bristol North West and Kingswood.

Unlike Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party is the only one of these four parties to categorically oppose PFI and the privatisation of public services.

We will prioritise affordable housing as the cornerstone of communities and provide funds to make existing homes more energy efficient, including requirements for solar heating and other renewable energy sources in new build developments.

Bristol North Green Party meets monthly. We would love to see you at one of these - have a look at our Events Calendar for further information. Or contact us at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  for full details of the meetings.