Bristol elects Labour's Marvin Rees as new mayor

The Labour candidate took 68,750 votes ahead of his rival George Ferguson's 39,577

Mr Rees also led the first preference votes with 40.4 per cent (Facebook)

Labour’s Marvin Rees has been elected as the new Mayor of Bristol, defeating rival George Ferguson of Bristol First at the second count.

Mr Rees, who was defeated by independent candidate Mr Ferguson in 2012, took 68,750 votes ahead of Mr Ferguson's 39,577 at the second count.

The Labour candidate also led the first preference votes with 40.4 per cent (56,729) ahead of Mr Ferguson’s 23.1 per cent (32,375). His victory is coupled with the turnout in Bristol almost doubling to 45 per cent from 2012.

Jeremy Corbyn, who travelled to Bristol on Saturday, has offered his congratulations, describing Mr Rees as "another Labour mayor who will stand up for their city".

Conservative candidate, Charles Lucas, beat the Green Party's Tony Dyer to third place, while Lib Dem candidate, Kay Barnard, came in fourth, followed by Ukip's Paul Turner.

Speaking after his victory, Mr Rees said: "One of the things I can do in the coming months is to show how we can be involved in electoral politics as a family.

"If you don't make politics family-friendly, you end up with a certain type of politician.

"We need family people elected and we need to make space for them. I am going to make space for my family."

Mr Ferguson, who has held the position of Mayor of Bristol since 2012, thanked his victor for "giving me my life back".

"It has been an amazing three-and-a-half years. I knew we were up against it first time but I knew we were even more up against it second time, especially as I am a great advocate for us having all-out elections."

Bristol was an important target for Labour, with Mr Rees leading a lively campaign in the area.

Mr Rees previously told the Guardian, that a win for him in Bristol, and for Sadiq Khan in London, would indicate real political change: “I think the Bristol election is important to national Labour.

“In myself and Sadiq you see evidence of the fact that Labour offers real political change. Look at our backgrounds. Sadiq is the son of a bus driver, I’m the mixed race son of a single white woman who spent time in a refuge.”

Mr Corbyn has backed Mr Rees throughout his mayoral campaign, making several visits to the city.

Speaking to the Bristol Post last month, Mr Corbyn said: "[The election] is an opportunity for the people of Bristol to elect a mayor who is going to deliver for this city and the council for this city.

"It's a test for the party to get its message across - the message of opposition to austerity, the message of dealing with the housing crisis which is gripping this country - and we are doing our best to do that."

Mayoral wins in London, Bristol, Salford and Liverpool have been a major boost for Labour, which had suffered the humiliation of slipping to third place in Scotland, once a stronghold for the party.

In Wales, Labour lost control of the Welsh Assembly after the totemic seat of Rhondda fell to the Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood.

But in English council elections, the party faired less badly than many pundits had expected – losing only 25 seats of the 1,200 it was defending.

The party also retained control of key councils such as Crawley, Southampton, Norwich and Hastings, where its vote had looked vulnerable.

Mr Rees will take office on Monday when he will be officially sworn in at a ceremony at Bristol Museum, M-shed.