'Outrageous' Bristol mayoral election booklet fee cut

The fee that candidates for the role of Bristol mayor are being asked to pay to appear in an election booklet has been slashed.

Bristol City Council initially planned to ask each candidate to pay between £1,500 and £2,000 to help fund the booklet, which will go to all voters.

Cities Minister Greg Clark said the fee was "outrageous" and that there was "no excuse for such demands".

The authority has now said it will charge candidates £750.

The Liberal Democrat-run local authority said it had to produce the booklet by law.

The government has instructed that candidates be asked to contribute a "reasonable amount", the council spokesman added.

Candidates can choose not to contribute, but they will not appear in the booklet.

In Salford, mayoral candidates have been asked to contribute £500 towards the cost of the election booklet, while in Leicester they have been asked to pay £250.

Candidates will also have to pay a £500 deposit and attract 30 signatures of support to stand in elections, which will be held on 15 November.

Tim Collins, who plans to run as an independent candidate, said he thought the fee should be refundable in the same way as an election deposit.

"I still think it's money down the drain because we'll only be entitled to our £500 back if we get more than 5% of the vote," he said.

"But £750? Fair enough they have to cover their costs but I don't think it's democratic at all."

Craig Clarke plans to stand for the State Educated party, which he is in the process of setting up.

He said: "£750 is relatively reasonable because that's the kind of cost that printing would cost to get a similar leaflet delivered out to the people of Bristol anyway.

Those saying they will run include:

"Whether the candidates will choose to use it, that's up to them."

In a statement, Bristol City Council said: "The council is required by statute to produce a booklet of information on mayoral candidates, and to send one individually to every registered voter (even if there are several in the same household).

"The law requires the returning officer recovers a reasonable contribution from each candidate who chooses to opt into that booklet.

"Our returning officer has now determined the reasonable amount to be charged to each candidate who would like their details included will be £750 each.

"This equates to less than a quarter of a penny per booklet and is therefore a fraction of the cost of anything any other candidate in any Parliamentary or Council election would have to find to produce something themselves."