It’s 10 days until the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) mayoral election which, as this week’s Unpacked guest, BBC journalist Pete Simson, points out, was in danger of being a pretty dull affair.
The events of the last month have ensured that is no longer the case. At the end of March, the self-style ‘Bad Boy of Brexit’, millionaire businessman Arron Banks, entered the race as the candidate for Reform.
Nigel Farage’s party took one in seven votes in several South Gloucestershire constituencies at the 2024 general election. Could Reform make the necessary gains on that proportion to spring a major upset in the tight five-party mayoral race?
Just a week after Banks’s entry came the shocking news that the outgoing WECA mayor, Labour’s Dan Norris, had been arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences. What impact might this have on the mayoral contest?
This WECA election marks the first time the Bristol region has been voting on a mayor since the city mayor, Marvin Rees, left office in May 2024. With him went Bristol’s mayoral system, meaning the combined authority leader is arguably the biggest figurehead in local politics. But with the powers of the WECA mayor still limited, what would this year’s winner have to do to make a success of the job?
Pete Simson, who has recently been appointed editor of BBC Politics West, is just the man to get into these questions. An 18-year veteran at the Beeb, Pete is renowned for pushing the envelope at the broadcaster and pulling a colourful focus onto local politics. Who can forget his segment drawing attention to flooding at the Lawrence Hill underpass, delivered from an inflatable jet ski floating through a subway full of foul water?
Besides the mayoral candidates, Pete and Neil explore whether impartial journalism still has a place in an increasingly polarised landscape, the “balancing act” of interviewing politicians, and the impact a packet of Bacon Fries can have on getting through an election count all-nighter. Enjoy.
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