Help us keep the lights on Support us

Area in Focus

The Cable wants to tell more stories from different parts of Bristol. That’s why, every three months we’re getting out into a new area, listening to locals and telling stories that matter

A cartoon of a voter putting a voting slip into a ballot box. Opposite is an electoral map of Bristol, where the Green Party won the most seats.

Podcasts

Listen: The Debrief – what does Bristol’s Green surge mean for the city, and what next for the council under a new committee system?

The Green Party became Bristol's largest party at local elections on 2 May, falling just short of an overall majority. As Bristol kisses goodbye to its mayoral system, what will happen next?

Green surge secures historic victory at Bristol council elections

None of the above: what are the alternatives for Bristol voters fed up of the big parties?

Head and shoulders shots of three female and one male candidate in Bristol's 2024 local elections

Area in Focus

From activists to councillors: the local election candidates taking the plunge into party politics

With a new committee system about to give councillors more power, the Cable spoke to some of the new faces hoping to take their desire for change to City Hall. 

Area in Focus

Bristol local election candidates debate rent controls, mass transit and missing net zero goal

Reports

Police and crime commissioner candidates on knife crime, institutional racism and public health policing

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Emma Edwards on making local politics less toxic, and whether the Greens are ready for power

Growing support for the Green Party could well see them running the council beyond May's local elections, but are they ready to make the tricky transition from the main local opposition to being in charge?

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Tory leader Mark Weston on how the council has waged ‘war on motorists’ and wasted millions

The councillor of nearly 20 years discusses the Tories' miserable national polling, the millions of pounds of public money wasted by the council, and the cultural divides between Bristol's inner city and suburbs.

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Jos Clark on ‘bloody rude’ Marvin, looming Labour thrashing and Lib Dem comeback

The experienced local councillor, who is a strong critic of Marvin Rees and the mayoral system, talks libraries, Bristol's failing bus services and her prediction that Labour will take a kicking after eight years in power.

As Labour and the Greens battle it out, how do their policies stack up?

Labour and the Greens are likely to be the two largest parties after Bristol’s local elections on 2 May, so we decided to delve beneath the rhetoric to see what they’d actually change.

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Labour’s Tom Renhard on building new homes, his fast rise to party leader and why the Greens aren’t ready for power

Labour will be trying to hold onto power after eight years of running the city. Local leader Tom Renhard says the Greens, Labour's main competition, won't be able to step up and make big decisions.

Explained: WTF are Bristol’s local elections all about?

Bristol goes to the polls in May to decide which party will run the city as we enter the post-mayoral era. Here’s your in-depth guide to the local elections.

Join our newsletter

Get the essential stories you won’t find anywhere else

Subscribe to the Cable newsletter to get our weekly round-up direct to your inbox every Saturday

Join our newsletter

Subscribe to the Cable newsletter

Get our latest stories & essential Bristol news
sent to your inbox every Saturday morning