Green Party hopes for an electoral hat trick in Bristol have been dashed.

The Green Party won the council elections in 2024 and followed it up at the general election by taking Bristol Central from the Labour Party, with co-leader Carla Denyer elected to Parliament. And they had been tipped as favourites to win the West of England Mayor last night, too.

But in a tight race, the Greens came third behind both Labour and Reform. The Greens received 41,094 (20%) to Reform’s 45,252 (22.1%) and victorious Labour’s 51,197 (25%).

Green candidate Mary Page said: “Obviously it’s slightly disappointing not to have a new job to go to after the weekend because I had such amazing plans and thoughts about how we could spend money better in this region.

“I had got a well thought out plan — a ‘we can’ plan to do this together — on nature, nurture, and needs. And the public seemed to like that.”

One Green activist said the party had run their campaign on just £10,000. The Greens did make waves in Bristol, with two thirds of their votes coming from the city. 27,452 Bristolians voted Green — only about 2,500 fewer than voted Labour (29,991).

But Bristol accounts for only just under half of the population of the West of England. Normally turnout in the city is higher, but this time all three areas — Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, and South Gloucestershire — were equal on a turnout of about 30%. This meant, for the first time in a West of England Mayor election, more votes were cast outside of Bristol than in the city.

But Ms Page said she was “absolutely stoked” by the fact the Greens came second in Bristol. She said: “Our campaign was run on a shoestring. It was pulled together last minute because I had to be that replacement candidate and needs must and I stepped up.

“I am so proud of my team. They have worked their socks off, they have worked their shoe leather off and we have run something from scratch and it just shows what we can do.”

She added: “In 2027, South Gloucestershire and Bath have both got elections and in 2028 Bristol has. So Labour and Reform, we are not going anywhere. The people have prioritised the planet and the environment and that’s where our heart is and that’s where it’s going to stay.”

The new West of England Mayor, Helen Godwin, said it is “the honour of my life” to be elected to the role. But it came amid a night of successes for Reform.

Reform have won the Runcorn byelection, and the Greater Lincolnshire Mayor. Arron Banks, the Reform candidate for the West of England said: “There is a tidal wave going on in the UK at the moment. We have seen Reform victory after Reform victory”

The full result was:

Arron Banks (Reform UK): 45,252

Helen Godwin (Labour): 51, 197

Oli Henman (Liberal Democrat): 28,711

Mary Page (Green): 41,094

Ian Scott (Independent): 4,682

Steve Smith (Conservative): 34,092