Embarrassment for Swindon South's Conservative MP
Swindon South's Conservative MP, Robert Buckland is facing embarrassment - just five days into his new job as Solicitor General.
West Country at Westminster: Fallout of EU elections
Join Alastair Stewart in Westminster for a look at this week's biggest political stories and how they affect us in the West Country.
Local Council elections take place across the region
Along with European elections, Local Council elections take place across the region today.
Live updates
Miliband: 'I look like Wallace' but image isn't important
Labour leader Ed Miliband has admitted to a likeness with "Wallace" from the popular "Wallace and Gromit" films, made by Bristol's Aardman Animations.
But he says politics rather than his image is what is important to him.
In a wide-ranging speech to the Royal Institute of British Architects he said:
– Ed Miliband MP, Labour leaderI am not from central casting. You can find people who are more square-jawed, more chiselled, look less like Wallace.
Call for an elected mayor for Bath & NE Somerset
London has Boris Johnson, Bristol has George Ferguson and now a campaign has begun to have an elected Mayor for Bath and North East Somerset.
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MP criticises Somerset County Council over salaries
A Somerset MP has criticised the county council after reports that it pays senior staff the highest salaries in the country.
Tessa Munt, MP for Wells, says she's appalled that the head of Children's services gets £318,000 - more than twice the Prime Minister.
Campaigners call for an elected Mayor in B&NES
A meeting's being held tonight, 23 July, to promote a campaign for an elected mayor in Bath and North East Somerset, similar to the one in Bristol.
A petition has been started which, if it attracts 6,900 names of voters in the area, will trigger a referendum on the issue.
Supporters are meeting at the BRLSI in Queen Square in Bath at 7pm to discuss the campaign.
Mayor Ferguson says "no tanks" to parking protesters
Campaigners fighting plans for new residents-only parking zones around Bristol drove a tank down one of the city's main streets tonight.
The protest was to highlight a petition expressing "no confidence" in Mayor George Ferguson's handling of the scheme.
Mayor Ferguson rejected the groups concerns, which he described as of "no consequence". The petition was debated in tonight's meeting of Full Council but no vote was made and the system is set to continue.
No first class for new Transport Minister
Claire Perry MP, the new Transport Minister responsible for railways, has told ITV News she'll never has, and never will, travel first class at taxpayers expense. The Minister, who represents Devizes in Wiltshire, also said the Daily Mail's coverage of the promotion of female MP's was 'puerile' and 'irritating'. She spoke to Ian Axton.
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So why did a tank drive down Park Street in Bristol?
People shopping in Bristol this afternoon may have been shocked to see a Sherman tank making its way down Park Street.
The display came courtesy of a group campaigning against the city's parking zones. The demonstrators were heading to College Green to support the fight for a vote of no confidence in Bristol Mayor George Ferguson's plans to control residents parking.
If you missed the spectacle, here it is:
Bristol FGM campaigner to attend summit in London
A teenager from Bristol will be attending the Girl Summit in London today, which aims to end Female Genital Mutilation - or FGM - within a generation.
Fahma Mohamed, who's 17, recently persuaded the Government to contact every school about the tradition, which is illegal in the UK but still practised among the region's African communities.
Bristol Mayor faces 'no confidence' debate
Bristol Mayor George Ferguson will face a 'no confidence' debate later today over the way he's introduced residents' parking schemes.
Protesters have submitted a petition of more than 5000 signatures, enough to force a council debate.
Seven out of twelve proposed zones have now been approved, but campaigners argue they hit trade and force businesses to move.
Tonight's debate is purely a symbolic gesture, as the city's 70 councillors do not have the power to remove a directly-elected mayor from office.
Calls for Swindon MP to stand down as Solicitor General
There are calls for a Wiltshire MP to stand down from the job he was given just six days ago. Robert Buckland, of South Swindon, became the new Solicitor General in last week's reshuffle.
But the appointment's been criticised after it emerged that three years ago he was found guilty of professional misconduct by the legal body he now oversees. Our Wiltshire Correspondent Robert Murphy reports:
