| Mayor of the West of England | |
|---|---|
 | |
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| Style | Mayor[1] |
| Appointer | Electorate of the West of England |
| Term length | 4 years |
| Formation | 2017 |
| Salary | £67,000–£87,000 (four step increase 2022–2025)[2] |
The Mayor of the West of England is the directly elected mayor who leads the West of England Combined Authority. The body, a combined authority, is responsible for the strategic administration of the West of England, including planning, transport and skills. For this purpose the West of England is defined as the local authority areas of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset. The creation of the role was agreed in 2016 as part of a devolution deal, by the then Chancellor George Osborne and the leaders of the three councils.
Elections use the supplementary vote system, where electors can vote for "first preference" and "second preference" candidates. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, all but the two leading candidates are eliminated and the votes of those eliminated are redistributed according to their second-choice votes to determine the winner.
The first election took place on 4 May 2017, and was won by Tim Bowles with a total of 70,300 votes, including second preferences. The turnout was 29.7%, with 199,519 voting out of the possible 671,280.[3]
The mayor is a member of the Mayoral Council for England and the Council of the Nations and Regions.
- ^ Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, s 107A(5)
- ^ Postans, Adam (4 February 2022). "West of England's Metro Mayor Dan Norris set for £20,000 pay hike". Bath Echo. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "Mayor of the West of England". BBC News. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.