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Points West George Ferguson elected mayor of Bristol: Red Trousers "I Am Your Servant"

222 views · Published 11 November 2013 · 21:31 · Indexed 8 November 2026

Channel: Public Enquiry · 2013 · News & Politics

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Bristol mayor: George Ferguson elected to lead city
BBC 16 November 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-20340154
A man who set up his own political party to stand out on the ballot paper has become the first directly-elected mayor of Bristol.
George Ferguson won with a total of 37,353 votes, 6,094 more than Labour's Marvin Rees in second place.
The two candidates went through to a second round of counting after neither had over 50% of first preference votes.
The turnout was 28%, which was higher than in the May referendum when Bristol voted for the new post.
'We deserve it'
After being declared winner, Mr Ferguson, 65, said the result was "a mandate".
He said: "I believe that today we voted for a new way of doing things. I don't see this as a vote for me - I see it as a vote for Bristol.
"I want to use that mandate to go and ask the prime minister and the government in general for more powers for Bristol and for more resources. I think we deserve it.
"We have delivered what they wanted, now they have got to deliver what we want."
He said he was "honoured" to be a servant and invited voters to judge him by what he does.
An architect famous for always wearing red trousers, Mr Ferguson also owns restaurants and bars in Bristol and has lived in the city for almost 50 years.
George Ferguson chose not to make big policy commitments in his campaign - knowing the mayor must work within a shrinking budget.
He has however promised to deliver an arena for the city, intends to ask government for powers to curb the expansion of supermarkets and to ask for permission to found an integrated transport authority.
He has two other big tasks to tackle over the next few days. He must form a cabinet made up of councillors who belong to political parties and he must find at least £26m to cut from the council budget.
He set up the Bristol 1st party so that he could be distinguished from other independent candidates on the ballot paper.
However, he has pledged to dissolve the party - of which he is the only member - once the election is over.
The result confirms that the Liberal Democrat party has lost control of the authority.

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