On 1 May 2025, Helen Godwin was elected as mayor of West of England with 25% of the vote. Godwin leads the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), which controlled a £119m revenue budget and an estimated £83m capital budget for the 2024/25 financial year.
What was the result of the 2025 West of England mayoral election?
Helen Godwin’s highest share of the vote was in Bristol (30.8%) and her lowest was in South Gloucestershire (19.2%).
What is the history of devolution to WECA?
Between 1974 and 1996, the city of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, and North Somerset were part of Avon Non-Metropolitan County Council. Avon was abolished in 1996, and was replaced by the four unitary authorities.
Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset voted to proceed with the West of England devolution deal, with the combined authority being established between these three local authorities in February 2017. 14 Bristol City Council, ‘Devolution and The West of England Combined Authority’, Bristol City Council, (no date), retrieved 24 July 2024, www.bristol.gov.uk/council/policies-plans-and-strategies/devolution-and-weca. The first mayoral election took place on 4 May 2017.
What is the West of England Combined Authority?
The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) is a legal body established by parliament in 2017. It brings together three local authorities: Bath and North East Somerset Council, Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council.
The combined authority is formed of one representative from each of the three constituent local authorities and the directly elected mayor who chairs the authority. The chair of the local enterprise partnership also attends meetings but has no voting rights. 17 West of England Combined Authority, ‘West of England Combined Authority Committee’, West of England Combined Authority, (no date) retrieved 1 October 2024, www.westofengland-ca.gov.uk/about-us/west-of-england-combined-authority-committee
The Liberal Democrats currently have majority control of Bath and North East Somerset Council. Since May 2023, South Gloucestershire Council has been under no overall control and run by a Liberal Democrat and Labour coalition. Bristol City Council is Green-led but under no overall control.
Although North Somerset Council is not part of the combined authority, its leader is a member of the West of England Joint Committee, along with the mayor and leaders of the three WECA constituent councils. The Joint Committee deals with matters across the four local authorities. For example, it prepares and adopts the Joint Transport Plan and Joint Spatial Plan. 19 West of England Combined Authority, ‘West of England Combined Authority Constitution’, 17 March 2023, retrieved 20 November 2024, www.westofengland-ca.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Constitution-Amended-April-2023-1.pdf, p. 7
What are the powers of the West of England mayor and combined authority?
The mayor and combined authority hold devolved powers over transport, skills, economic development and planning.
WECA controls an investment fund, with the government allocating £30m per year over 30 years. 23 HM Treasury, ‘West of England devolution agreement’, HM Treasury, 16 March 2016, retrieved 1 October 2024, www.gov.uk/government/publications/west-of-england-devolution-deal The mayor has the power to charge a business rates supplement to fund infrastructure.
The mayor has the power to adopt a statutory spatial development strategy (SDS) – subject to unanimous combined authority vote – and to undertake land assembly and compulsory purchases. The mayor also has the ability to establish mayoral development corporations (MDCs) with the agreement of the leader of the council where the MDC would operate. In practice, neither of these powers – to establish an SDS or MDC – has been exercised.
How does WECA compare to the rest of the UK in terms of social and economic outcomes?
The WECA region performs better than the national average across many social and economic indicators, including gross median weekly pay, employment rates, digital connectivity and housing standards.
The West of England performs particularly well on adult skills. 70% of adults have a level three qualification or above, compared with 61% across the UK.
However, there is substantial variation between the region’s local authorities on some metrics. For example, South Gloucestershire exceeds the national average of productivity (gross value-added per hour worked) by 22%, but Bath and North East Somerset and Bristol fall 35% and 15% below it respectively.
Although in line with the national average of 28% overall, the use of public transport to commute also varies across the region. Public transport usage is highest in Bristol (35%) and lowest in South Gloucestershire (18%).
How does the WECA area overlap with other administrative boundaries?
The WECA area is not coterminous with a police force area. While Avon and Somerset Police covers all three councils, the police force geography extends beyond the combined authority area to North Somerset, as well as Somerset Council.
There are two integrated care boards that overlap with the WECA area: NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board and NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board. WECA falls within the wider South West Department for Education region. 31 ‘Regional Director for South West: Lucy Livings’, (no date) retrieved 5 December 2024, www.gov.uk/government/people/lucy-livings
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