The Metro Mayor Election should be postponed to give more time for North Somerset to join the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), cross-party councillors have demanded.

They say it might be the only way to get the two warring sides together for talks on the issue that has splintered the regional partnership.

Last month, West of England Tory Mayor, Tim Bowles, and the leaders of South Gloucestershire, Bath & North East Somerset and North Somerset Councils accused Bristol Mayor, Marvin Rees, of “putting party politics before doing the right thing for the region,” by blocking WECA’s expansion.

In response, Labour’s Mr Rees said he was disappointed “an ongoing internal debate” had been made public and that he did support North Somerset joining, but only when the Government put in place “a clear financial offer that benefits Bristol and the West of England economy”.

Bristol City Councillors passed a motion backing North Somerset’s inclusion at the end of November, but an amendment by the ruling Labour group removed the deadline for the necessary public consultation, which Tories and Lib Dems claimed “kicked the issue into the long grass,” for at least another four years.

Under devolution legislation, a combined authority cannot change its boundaries mid-term between Metro Mayoral elections because any new district would not have had a say in the vote.

Calls have now been made at a WECA overview and scrutiny committee meeting for the election in May 2021 to be pushed back until an agreement on North Somerset joining is reached.

It follows a letter signed by all committee members – including Labour, Conservatives, Lib Dems, Greens and independents – to the Mayors and Council Leaders urging them to hurry up and sort it out.

They wrote: “We understand that if this issue cannot be resolved urgently then North Somerset will not be able to join WECA until 2025 at the earliest and this is not acceptable.

“Therefore, we ask that all parties meet to discuss this urgently and try and ensure that our region has the ability to speak with one voice when decisions are being made by Central Government that impact on all our citizens.”

B&NES Lib Dem Cllr Winston Duguid told the meeting on Wednesday, December 2nd: “I see us getting to the stage in the near future where we should be demanding a postponement in the Metro Mayoral Election until this matter is resolved.”

B&NES Lib Dem Cllr Hal McFie said: “I would support that. We need to say something very positive and the idea is that we actually put the election on hold.”

Bristol Lib Dem Cllr Gary Hopkins added: “While postponing the election is not a good option, if that’s the only one we’re left with, we would have to support that. I raised this with senior officers in Bristol who made it clear they would not support it, so I didn’t feel it could actually happen.”

North Somerset Lib Dem Cllr Huw James said: “It would be an absolute travesty if we couldn’t join, given we’re in the middle of a pandemic and an employment crisis, and we could all benefit if we do join. The leaders need to meet with urgency to address the challenges – rather than stomping off.”

Adam Postans, LDRS