The new Brighton? No... my beloved Bristol (or should I say Green-land?) is even more bonkers, writes CHRISTOPHER STEVENS

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Eco-greetings to readers of all genders from Green-land, the Bristol suburb formerly known as Redland and once (very long ago) part of the city's Tory true blue-land.

The hilly suburban streets where my wife and I have lived for more than 30 years have become part of the UK's Green revolution.

The Green Party's co-leader, Carla Denyer, trounced the sitting Labour MP, Thangam Debbonaire, by a margin of more than 10,000 votes – netting 56 per cent of all votes cast, on an agenda of house-building, rent control and obsessive net zero policies.

This might seem improbable in a neighbourhood where more than half the front gardens have been paved over to provide parking for the fleets of Audis, BMWs and Mercedes.

But take a short stroll into the more historic Georgian streets, where high-windowed mansions have been diced up into student bedsits, and you'll encounter a cacophony of woke.

The Green Party's co-leader, Carla Denyer (pictured), beat Labour MP, Thangam Debbonaire, by a margin of more than 10,000 votes 

The co-leader with Adrian Ramsay on the campaign trail. The new MP won on an agenda of house-building, rent control and obsessive net zero policies

Ms Denyer on the campaign trail visiting houses in Cotham, Bristol

Ms Denyer with Green party supporters while on the campaign trail. The party as a whole took four seats in total

Peace signs and rainbow banners flutter beside posters condemning 'Zionism' and proclaiming 'Silence is Violence'.

Every public park reeks of extra-strength 'skunk' weed – a smell like compost dipped in syrup.

QR codes plastered on lampposts advertise sites that deliver drug to the door just like fast-food outlets. Analysis of waste water shows a higher concentration of cocaine than in Amsterdam.

Last summer, before the Hamas atrocities of October 7, convoys of demonstrators raced up and down the bars- and-restaurants thoroughfare of Whiteladies Road, waving Palestinian flags and blaring chants in Arabic.

And in 2020, following the toppling of a statue of the city's transatlantic slave trader Edward Colston, rioters intent on confrontations with police repeatedly invaded the city centre.

Today, political commentators are calling Bristol 'the new Brighton' – but this city has a darker history of violence and civil unrest that dates back far beyond the urban riots in the less-well-off districts of St Paul's and Southmead during the early 1980s.

While Brighton was a town devoted to hedonism in the Georgian Regency days, Bristol suffered riots over the 1831 Reform Bill in which hundreds died. But that's ancient history.

A local Bristol house covered with pro-Green posters in the window and on the front door

The constituency is now led by Ms Denyer but previously had been hotly contested and the victim of several boundary changes

The area has a chequered history including links to Edward Colston. In 2020 his statue was toppled by protesters  

When my wife and I bought our first flat here, in what was then the constituency of Bristol West, our MP was Conservative Cabinet minister William Waldegrave – a man so patrician he made Jacob Rees-Mogg look like Citizen 'Wolfie' Smith.

His successor was Blair Babe Valerie Davey, who was ousted in turn by a Lib Dem. Out he went in 2015, replaced by Ms Debbonaire who – I know from personal experience – was an outstanding constituency MP.

But boundary changes following a review last year have transformed the newly created Bristol Central into one of the most rabidly Left-wing districts in Britain.

According to the pollster website Electoral Calculus, just 12 per cent of voters here backed Brexit. Typical political leanings are summarised as 'Strong Left'.

A survey commissioned by Stack Data Strategy named Bristol Central as the constituency with the highest proportion of voters –55 per cent – who want to see more immigration and fewer border controls. The city council is already emphatically Green, with 34 party members, compared with 20 for Labour, eight Lib Dems and seven Tories.

Bristol was the UK's first 'cycling city', the first to be designated a European Green Capital and the first to announce plans to become a 'carbon neutral city' by 2030.

The city centre's Clean Air Zone, introduced in 2022, means drivers whose vehicles fail to meet stringent emissions standards must pay a daily charge of £9 (and £100 for some HGVs) or face a fine of £120 for every offence.

The city centre's Clean Air Zone, introduced in 2022, means drivers whose vehicles fail to meet stringent emissions standards must pay a daily charge of £9 (File image)

The new local MP has been elected on the strength of her opposition to a war against terrorism, in a Middle Eastern country. Pictured: a pro-Palestine protest

All this has triggered a chaotic free-for-all on Bristol pavements, as pedestrians have to step over increasing numbers of idle e-bikes and dodge the cyclists who prefer to zigzag between them rather than use allotted lanes.

Bicycles, boundary changes, Gaza and Black Lives Matter – the Green Party is on the march.

The Corbynite newspaper Socialist Worker noted approvingly: 'The Green campaign in Bristol focused on Left-wing issues, including the housing and energy crises, fighting inequality, and most importantly Palestine.'

It's unsettling to know that our local MP has been elected on the strength of her opposition to a war against terrorism, in a Middle Eastern country – one that our Government has no power to influence. 

And it's depressing to know that her victory means more bikes on pavements, more aggressive demonstrations against Israel, more harassment of drivers, more all-round virtue signalling.

But we're staying put. Bristol is still a uniquely special place. Our garden has seen badgers this year, and lizards, owls, hedgehogs and sparrowhawks. That's the kind of green we love.