Bristol MEP to stay on as city councillor

A Bristol Tory councillor who won a seat in the European elections says he won't be standing down from his city council ward.

Ashley Fox, who has represented Westbury-on-Trym for the past seven years, is one of six candidates in the South West to win a seat in the European Parliament.

The results for the region were announced early yesterday in Poole, the regional centre for the election count.

Mr Fox, a 39-year-old solicitor who lives with his wife, Julia, 37, and their two young children in Henleaze, said he will remain a city councillor until his tenure runs out next May.

He said: "I won't be standing down as councillor for Westbury-on-Trym. I live in the area, have been a councillor for seven years and still enjoy it.

"I am confident that I can continue my role representing my constituents.

"My time of office as a councillor expires in May next year, so there seems little point in causing a by-election which will cost the council tax payer thousands of pounds for a very short term of office."

Mr Fox said he was delighted to be Bristol's first Euro MP for 10 years.

And he made a promise that he wouldn't be claiming any allowances as a councillor once his European term of office began on July 14.

He said: "I become an MEP on July 14, and I will not be claiming any allowances from the council tax payer from that date." "I will also do my best for Bristol and all of the South West."

Mr Fox was one of three Tory winners on a night when the Labour vote suffered a spectacular collapse.

Labour slumped into fifth place behind the Tories, UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party) and the Green Party.

Labour suffered so badly that the BNP (British National Party) polled more than half of their total votes.

Mr Fox said the Labour vote had collapsed because of their failure to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and their failure to deal with the economy.

He said voters were fed up with Gordon Brown and called for a General Election as soon as possible.

Mr Fox said: "We fought the election on a campaign for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, because we think that Britons should have their say on that treaty.

"We will honour that pledge to put maximum pressure on the Government for a referendum. The single issue that interests me most is the issue that the EU was set up for – the promotion of international trade.

"I believe that free trade will bring prosperity to Britain and the whole of Europe."

"At a time when Britain is facing a deep recession there is always a temptation to be protectionist, but I believe jobs and prosperity can be gained through the improvement of trade with the rest of the world."

Labour's Glyn Ford, who had been his party's sole MEP before the elections but lost his seat, admitted that his party's fifth place was "very disappointing".

He said: "No one can pretend it's a good result but you have to bear in mind that the South West is our weakest region."

"Of course I don't want to be in a situation where the BNP takes one vote for nearly two of ours but it has to be borne in mind that they didn't make the breakthrough they were anticipating."

Labour polled 118,000 votes (7.66 per cent) compared to the BNP's 60,000 votes (3.93 per cent).

The two other Tories to win seats were Giles Chichester from Ottery St Mary in Devon and Julie Girling, former leader of Cotswold District Council.

The two UKIP candidates who won seats were former police superintendent Trevor Colman, 67, from Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, and William Dartmouth, a former Conservative member of the House of Lords, who swapped allegiance over Europe. The lone Liberal Democrat seat was won by Graham Watson, who is the leader of the Lib Dem's in Europe.

The Green Party candidate, Ricky Knight, a former teacher from North Devon, said it was a small consolation to force Labour into fifth spot.

He said their hope had been to win a seat so they could fight for policies to deal with climate change.

A total of 16 parties and one independent stood in the south west, with 11 of them losing their £5,000 deposit.

The turnout was 38.87 per cent – marginally higher than five years ago when it was 37.6 per cent.

In the former Avon area, the turnout was slightly less than average at 36.35 per cent.

A total of 779,820 people were eligible to vote in the south west but only 282,842 took the trouble to help decide who runs the European Parliament during the next five years.

In Bristol, 295,862 people were eligible to vote but only 106,669 bothered to do so.

The order the six successful candidates were elected was:

Giles Chichester, Con

Trevor Colman, UKIP

Graham Watson, Lib Dem

Julie Girling, Con

William Dartmouth, UKIP

Ashley Fox, Con

● Results for Euro elections 2009: Conservative Party 468,742 (3 MEPs elected); United Kingdom Independence Party 341,845 (2 MEPs); Liberal Democrats 266,253 (1 MEP); The Green Party 144,179; The Labour Party 118,716; British National Party 60,889; Pensioners Party 47,785; English Democrats Party 25,313; Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ's Lordship" 21,329; Mebyon Kernow – The Party for Cornwall 14,922; Socialist Labour Party 10,033; No2EU: Yes to Democracy 9,741; Independent: Katie Olivia Hopkins 8,971; Pro Democracy: Libertas.eu 7,292; Fair Pay Fair Trade Party 7,151; Jury Team 5,758; WAI D 789.