Carla Denyer, Bristol MP and co-leader of the Greens, said it was "remarkable" that the election was "too close to call".

She told BBC One's election night coverage: "If the Greens did break through, that would mean Greens are represented at every level of local and regional and national government in England."

She added that the Greens were "very sceptical" of the creation of regional mayors.

"Our fear was this intermediary level of government would suck power up from local government," Ms Denyer said.

"We're really about being connected to our local communities, about grassroots, bottom-up decision making."

Ms Denyer added that her party have increased the number of Green councillors "nearly five-fold" over the last five years.

"I'm feeling really grateful for the level of support we've had from voters across the country," Ms Denyer added.

Since 2017, two people have held the post: Conservative Tim Bowles and Labour's Dan Norris, who is also now the MP for Hanham and North East Somerset.

Under new rules introduced by his party, Mr Norris was not allowed to keep his second job and therefore cannot stand again, Mr Norris was also recently arrested.

The candidates standing in the 2025 Weca election, in alphabetical order:

• Arron Banks, Reform
• Helen Godwin, Labour
• Oli Henman, Liberal Democrat
• Mary Page, Green Party
• Ian Scott, Independent
• Steve Smith, Conservative and Unionist Party

Find out more about each candidate here.

Pete Simson
Political reporter, BBC Bristol

The role of regional mayor comes with big responsibilities over planning, adult skills and crucially transport, in a region that includes the cities of Bristol and Bath.

The west of England is a so-called 'net contributor' to the UK economy, but public transport has long suffered from a lack of investment here.

The next Mayor will be in charge of trying to fix well-worn problems, such as an unreliable bus network, poor rail links and congestion on the roads.

It has the potential to be a huge job and if the Government’s devolution plans go ahead, it could become the most powerful political role in the region.

Image source, Getty Images

However, unlike city regions elsewhere in the country, the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) isn’t as well known and certainly not as well understood, by large swathes of the public.

Decisions require buy-in from the leaders of the Councils who make up WECA – Bristol, BANES and South Gloucestershire.

The mayoral role has been held by both the Conservatives and Labour these past eight years, but predicting the outcome of this race, which for the first time is using the simple first-past-the-post system, has confounded many and has been characterised as too close to call.

Whoever wins will have a big job on their hands convincing people that the West of England mayor can make any difference.

Ultimately, the winner has a say over how hundreds of millions of pounds are spent in the region - but they will need to build a relationship with the various council leaders if they are really going to get much done.

All the candidates agree on the need for better buses - but how they would go about that is a bit different.

The Greens and the Lib Dems have said they would start work to bring bus routes into public control, whereas Labour have suggested there might be quicker ways to improve the service.

I've spoken to activists from all the main parties here at the count in Yate. The sense I get is that all of them think this election is very close, and that turnout may play a big part in deciding who wins.

That said, Reform seem particularly excited here in South Gloucestershire. This is is Arron Banks's home turf and they think he's doing very well here.

I’ve talked to activists from several of the parties – and no one’s confident about what’s going to happen.

The Greens, who the bookies have as favourites, are uncertain if that’ll translate to a real victory.

Labour, who today mounted a big push to get their vote out, are also unsure whether they’ve succeeded.

The Tories are putting on brave faces, but there’s a quiet acceptance that the 2025 local elections are proving tough for their party.

As for the Lib Dems, there are some at this Bristol count – but many local activists have been off campaigning in Wiltshire, one of the councils where they’re hoping to make big gains.

All are prepared for a long night’s count.

And off we go! All the ballot boxes have arrived at the count in Bristol and verification is under way.

There are counts in Bath and Yate as well - so ballot papers from Banes and South Gloucestershire have been taken there.

We’re expecting a final result between 03:00-04:00 BST, but there’s people from each of the parties here eyeing up the ballot papers and trying to work it out before it's official.

As for me and cameraman Simon, we’re settling in for a long night with grapes and digestive biscuits.

Just heard there’s a cafe open in the building as well, best news of the night so far….

Some would say, not much.

Dan Norris introduced the Birthday Bus Pass, which gives people free bus travel for the month of their birthday - but critics have described the scheme as a ‘gimmick’. Many of the candidates up for election have said they’d scrap it.

Under his leadership, WECA was put into special measures by the government. A report by external auditors had ordered them to "stop fighting, play nicely and heal their strained relationships". The government took them out of special measures in March this year.

Labour’s candidate Helen Godwin has admitted that more could have been done with the role since it was created.

People are busy counting ballots at the City Academy in Bristol.

Counting is expected to go on until about 04:00 BST.

Ballot boxes have been arriving here in Yate since polls closed at 22:00 BST.

I'm hearing that the first stage of the process - verification - may be done by 00:30. We should also get a turnout figure at that point.

Some activists have told me they're hopeful of a slightly higher turnout this time, because of the good weather.

Pete Simson
Political reporter, BBC Bristol

The one area where the regional mayor does have a clear set of powers is transport.

So, it’s unsurprising that the election campaign has raised ideas like bus franchising, a new mass-transit system.

As well as more hyper-localised issues, such as low-traffic neighbourhoods or the installation of new bus and cycle lanes.

Image source, Google

For an electorate that may feel there’s been little return for their votes in recent years.

However, it’s been a low-key campaign.

Whoever does win this election will have a job to both raise the profile of the WECA Mayor.

But also convince people in the region it can make a positive difference to their lives.

The WECA mayoral election is being counted in three locations - Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset and here in Yate, South Gloucestershire. Activists are telling me they believe the vote is close. But they're expecting counting here to go on until 04:00 BST, with a result being announced in Bristol some time after that. So it could be a long night...

There are roughly 683,000 registered voters in the WECA area. We’ll get a final figure later on, when we’ll also find out how many people actually turned out.

Almost half of registered voters (326,000) live in Bristol, where the Greens achieved big success in last year’s local elections. In the general election, the Bristol elected one Green and four Labour MPs.

Just over 215,000 voters live in South Gloucestershire, and 141,000 in Bath and North East Somerset.

Image source, PA

So, what happened during the 2021 Weca mayor elections?

Labour's Dan Norris received 125,482 votes, beating Conservative businessman Samuel Williams by 40,093 votes.

The Green Party's Jerome Thomas finished third, attracting 54,919 votes.

Around 700,994 people registered as voters that year and the election saw a 36.1% turnout.

Image source, Getty Images

Here is a quick look at what the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) is and what it’s responsibilities are.

Weca is made up of three different authorities:

• Bristol
• Bath & North East Somerset
• South Gloucestershire

North Somerset is not currently part of Weca.

Weca supports the Local Enterprise Partnership, which includes North Somerset Council.

The authority is tasked with improving public transport, training and job opportunities, and supporting businesses.

It also oversees the region's housing plans.

These responsibilities have been moved away from central government, who will provide £30m a year towards Weca.

The authority is held by the Weca mayor - sometimes referred to as the Metro Mayor - and elections for the position are held every four years.

The Weca mayoral role was created as part of a devolution deal giving more decision-making to English regions rather than focusing power in Westminster alone.

Image source, PA Media

It is local elections day and in the west of England, polling stations have now closed.

Constituents in the region have cast their votes to select the new mayor of the West of England Combined Authority (Weca).

We’ll be providing live updates throughout the night, plus we’ll have plenty of analysis and reaction as events unfold later on, so stick with us.