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West Of England
The West of England is an area of South West England around the River Avon. The area has a local government combined authority that consists of the unitary authorities of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset. The combined authority is led by the Mayor of the West of England Helen Godwin. The city of Bristol is the region's largest population centre. Before the region, from 1974 until 1996, the area was under the County of Avon with North Somerset. Background The term has been used in the Bristol and Bath area since at least the 18th century. The Royal Bath and West of England Society was named the Bath and West of England Society in 1790. The Royal West of England Academy received its present title in 1913. More recently the term has been used by organisations such as the West of England Partnership,West of England Partn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Of England Combined Authority
The West of England Combined Authority (WECA), branded as the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, is a combined authority within the West of England combined authority area, consisting of the local authority areas of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset. The combined authority has its headquarters in the Redcliffe area of Bristol, and is led by the mayor of the West of England. The most recent mayoral election took place on 1 May 2025, when the Labour candidate Helen Godwin was elected on a turnout of 30%. Since December 2024, the combined authority has branded itself as the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority. Its statutory name remains the West of England Combined Authority. Establishment Devolution of certain powers to the West of England was announced by the UK government in the 2016 budget. The government's vision was to create a "Western Powerhouse" analogous to the Northern Powerhouse concept. It is claimed that th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Country
The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire."Which counties make up the West Country?", ''YouGov.co.uk'', 23 October 2019 Retrieved 22 June 2021 The West Country has a distinctive regional English dialect and accent, and is also home to the . Extent |
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern part of its area falls within the Greater Bristol urban area surrounding the city of Bristol. South Gloucestershire was created in 1996 to replace the Northavon district of the abolished county of Avon. It is separate from Gloucestershire County Council, but is part of the ceremonial county and shares Gloucestershire's Lord Lieutenant (the Sovereign's representative to the county). Because of its history as part of the county of Avon, South Gloucestershire works closely with the other unitary authorities that took over when that county was abolished, including shared services such as Avon Fire and Rescue Service and Avon and Somerset Police, together with co-operation in planning strategy for transport, roads and housing. History Pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helen Godwin
Helen Godwin is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who has served as the Mayor of the West of England since 2025. Early life and education Helen Godwin grew up in Begbrook, near Stapleton, Bristol, in what she states was a working class family, and went to Cotham School and Filton College. From 1994 to 1998 she took a degree in European Studies and Spanish at Liverpool John Moores University. Early political career In her 20s, Godwin was a New Labour supporter and Labour blogger, although she left the Labour party for four years in protest at British involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which she called an illegal war. Godwin (listed as Helen Godwin Teige) was elected to Bristol City Council, representing Southmead ward, in 2016. She was re-elected in 2021, and later served as cabinet member for women, young people and families under Marvin Rees. She announced her resignation as councillor in December 2021 due to work commitments from a new job. In 2020 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mayor Of The West Of England
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 strategic administration, including planning, transport and skills, across 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. 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. 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 accordin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combined Authority
A combined authority (CA) is a type of local government institution introduced in England outside Greater London by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. CAs are created voluntarily and allow a group of local authorities to pool appropriate responsibility and receive certain devolved functions from central government in order to deliver transport and economic policy more effectively over a wider area. In areas where local government is two-tier, both must participate in the combined authority. A combined county authority (CCA) is a similar type of local government institution introduced in England outside Greater London by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, but may only be formed by upper-tier authorities: county councils and unitary authorities. The members of the CCA are appointed by its constituent councils. In addition, the CCA may appoint additional members and allow another body to nominate members; these members are non-voting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Local Government In England
Local government in England broadly consists of three layers: civil parishes, local authorities, and regional authorities. Every part of England is governed by at least one local authority, but parish councils and regional authorities do not exist everywhere. In addition, there are 31 Police and crime commissioner, police and crime commissioners, four Police, fire and crime commissioner, police, fire and crime commissioners, and ten National park authority, national park authorities with local government responsibilities. Local government is not standardised across the country, with the last comprehensive reform taking place Local Government Act 1972, in 1974. Civil parish, Civil parishes are the lowest tier of local government, and primarily exist in rural and smaller urban areas. The responsibilities of parish councils are limited and generally consist of providing and maintaining public spaces and facilities. Local authorities cover the entirety of England, and are responsi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Avon, Bristol
The River Avon ( ) is a river in the southwest of England. To distinguish it from a number of other rivers of the same name, it is often called the Bristol Avon. The name 'Avon' is loaned from an ancestor of the Welsh word , meaning 'river'. The Avon rises just north of the village of Acton Turville in South Gloucestershire, before flowing through Wiltshire into Somerset. In its lower reaches from Bath (where it meets the Kennet and Avon Canal) to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth near Bristol, the river is navigable and is known as the Avon Navigation. The Avon is the 19th longest river in the United Kingdom, at , although there are just as the crow flies between the source and its mouth in the Severn Estuary. The catchment area is . Etymology The name "Avon" is loaned from the Common Brittonic , "river", which survives in the Welsh word ''afon'' . " River Avon", therefore, literally means "river river"; several other English and Scottish rivers share the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Summer Time
During British Summer Time (BST), civil time in the United Kingdom is advanced one hour forward of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), in effect changing the time zone from UTC+00:00 to UTC+01:00, so that mornings have one hour less daylight, and evenings one hour more. BST begins at 01:00 GMT every year on the last Sunday of March and ends at 02:00 BST on the last Sunday of October. The starting and finishing times of daylight saving were aligned across the European Union on 22 October 1995, and the UK retained this alignment after it left the EU; both BST and Central European Summer Time begin and end on the same Sundays at 02:00 Central European Time, 01:00 GMT. Between 1972 and 1995, the BST period was defined as "beginning at two o'clock, Greenwich mean time, in the morning of the day after the third Saturday in March or, if that day is Easter Day, the day after the second Saturday in March, and ending at two o'clock, Greenwich mean time, in the morning of the day after the fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greenwich Mean Time
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the local mean time at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a consequence, it cannot be used to specify a particular time unless a context is given. The term "GMT" is also used as Western European Time, one of the names for the time zone UTC+00:00 and, in UK law, is the basis for civil time in the United Kingdom. Because of Earth's uneven angular velocity in its Elliptic orbit, elliptical orbit and its axial tilt, noon (12:00:00) GMT is rarely the exact moment the Sun crosses the Prime meridian (Greenwich), Greenwich Meridian and reaches its highest point in the sky there. This event may occur up to 16 minutes before or after noon GMT, a discrepancy described by the equation of time. Noon GMT is the annual average (the arithmetic mean) moment of this event, which accounts f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dan Norris
Dan Norris (born 28 January 1960) is a British politician who served as Mayor of the West of England from 2021 to 2025, and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset and Hanham since 2024, having represented Wansdyke, one of its predecessor constituencies, from 1997 to 2010. An independent, he was formerly a member of the Labour Party, until he was suspended in April 2025 after being arrested by Avon and Somerset Police on suspicion of rape, child sex offences, child abduction and misconduct in a public office. Norris served in government as the Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Environment from 2009 to 2010, and an Assistant Whip from 2001 to 2003. Norris was elected to Parliament for North East Somerset and Hanham in the 2024 general election, defeating Jacob Rees-Mogg, who had defeated him in the 2010 election. Early life Norris was born on 28 January 1960 in London to David and June Norris. June was a Labour counc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mayor Of The West Of England
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 strategic administration, including planning, transport and skills, across 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. 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. 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 accordin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
