Labour’s former Bristol City Council cabinet member Kye Dudd who lost his seat last May has won the Southmead by-election after narrowly seeing off the latest Green surge.
The 37-year-old was returned to City Hall by just 52 votes ahead of Green candidate Ed Burnham. It means the two main parties in the chamber have 24 councillors each again, although Labour mayor Marvin Rees also has a vote at full council and has a cabinet comprising entirely his own party, with the Greens in opposition.
Cllr Dudd’s victory is a hold for Labour following the resignation of Cllr Helen Godwin, also a cabinet member, in December, which prompted the poll on Thursday (February 17). But while the group’s vote held relatively steady, slipping by 3.4 per cent from May 2021 to 41.25 per cent, the Greens’ soared by more than 19 per cent to 38.5 per cent and from fifth place only nine months ago to a close second.
