West Country (E) Politics News

Bristol is to get its first Muslim Lord Mayor. Faruk Choudhury will be sworn in next Tuesday in a traditional ceremony at the City Hall. At 38, he's also the youngest person ever to hold the position. He says it will be good to have a member of Bristol's diverse communities in the role.

• Politics
• Bristol

Should the Conservatives form an electoral pact with UKIP? That's the suggestion being floated by some at Westminster - most notably Jacob Rees-Mogg, Tory MP for North-East Somerset.

In an interview for ITV West Country, he proposes a deal whereby UKIP would not stand against eurosceptics like him, and in return the Tories would not field candidates where UKIP has a chance of winning.

The idea's hardly likely to go down well with the leadership and on The West Country at Westminster UKIP's Executive Chairman Steve Crowther rejects the idea in any case:

• Politics

Bristol is to get its first Muslim Lord Mayor.

Faruk Choudhury will be sworn in on Tuesday at the City Hall. At the age of 38 he's also the youngest person ever to hold the position.

He'll be Lord Mayor for a year and says one of the issues he wants to champion is organ donation amongst people from ethnic minorities.

• UK
• Bristol

The May edition of The West Country at Westminster, the monthly regional discussion programme hosted by Alastair Stewart.

Guests George Eustice MP (Con, Camborne and Redruth), Dawn Primarolo MP (Lab, Bristol South) and Steve Crowther, from UKIP, debate the impact of the Eurosceptic party's recent performance in the council elections and whether it should form a pact with the Conservatives.

And Dawn Primarolo considers Labour's decision to work with the mayor of Bristol by serving in his cabinet.

• Politics
• Bristol

Seven West Country Conservative MPs voted for the so-called 'rebel amendment' calling for an EU referendum last night:

• James Gray (North Wiltshire)
• Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West)
• Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater)
• John Penrose (Weston-super-Mare)
• Jacob Rees-Mogg (North-East Somerset)
• Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury)
• Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon)

All seven voted against the Government's failure to include the measure in the Queen's Speech.

And you can see more about that on our political discussion programme, The West Country at Westminster, tonight at 11.35pm on ITV.

• Politics

The Conservatives on Gloucestershire County Council are going it alone. They lost their majority at the recent elections and have failed to do a deal with the other parties. They say they will rely on support from parties when it is needed.

• Politics
• Gloucestershire County Council

The Mayor of Bristol is refusing to apologise after being recorded swearing at a member of the public. George Ferguson was caught exchanging insults at an event in the city.

But he says he was being harassed and decided to speak to his challenger 'in the language he would understand'.

Richard Payne reports:

• UK
• Bristol
• Mayor of Bristol

The Queen has unveiled the government's plans for the next session of Parliament during her speech at the State Opening.

Stephen Williams, the MP for Bristol West, was given the job of leading the response in the Commons - traditionally seen as a light-hearted opening to the more serious debate that follows.

• UK
• Queen's Speech
• Parliament

The final count for Bristol City Council is 28 seats for Labour, followed by the Lib Dems with 23 and the Conservatives with 14.

The Green Party had 4 seats and one went to an independent. Unlike in many other counties, UKIP failed to win a single seat.

• UK