Bristol, City of Dissent
A history of rebellion from 1776 to 2024
The city of Bristol in southwestern England is my adopted home. I love this city’s history of rebellion, going back to at least the 18th century. During the American Revolution of 1776, Bristolians were so eager to go against the tide of mainstream British public opinion that many of them supported the American side of the war. In the 21st century, now that America has itself become an empire with Britain as its colony, my guess is that many Bristolians’ sympathy would lean in the opposite direction.
In July 2024, Bristol Central became one of four constituencies in the UK (along with Waveney Valley, Herefordshire, and Bright) to elect a Green MP, Carla Denyer. Denyer will be Bristol’s first Green MP in the city history. This happened during a Labour landslide. The Labour Party gained over 400 seats in Parliament, unseating many Conservative seats. Bristol Central never could have elected a Conservative MP, so the political stakes were different in this city. Here in Bristol, a Labour MP who was also serving as shadow minister of culture was unseated by the co-chair of the Green Party, who was among the first politicians to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Even more notably, Deyner has endorsed BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel) and called for its implementation “across the UK economy.”
