| Mayor of the West of England | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 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. [3]
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The West of England Combined Authority Order 2017, which created the body with effect from 9 February 2017, specifies that mayoral elections are to be held every fourth year, commencing on 4 May 2017. [4] At first, elections used the supplementary vote system, where electors voted for "first preference" and "second preference" candidates. If no candidate received a majority of first-choice votes, all but the two leading candidates were eliminated and the votes of those eliminated were redistributed according to their second-choice votes to determine the winner. The 2025 West of England mayoral election will use first past the post as required by the Elections Act 2022.
The first election on 4 May 2017 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. [5]
The mayor is a member of the Mayoral Council for England and the Council of the Nations and Regions.
