![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_Kevin-Slcombe.jpg\")
Head of Mayor Office Kevin Slocombe<\/p>\n“The candidate I have selected brings the necessary and unusual combination of political awareness, strategic insight, and operational understanding required to deliver in this role”<\/p>\n
20:23, 15 Jul 2025Updated 08:22, 16 Jul 2025<\/p>\n
Head of Mayor Office Kevin Slocombe<\/p>\n
The controversial figure who was Marvin Rees\u2019 right-hand man<\/a> running Bristol for eight years is about to get a new job – as Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset Police. Kevin Slocombe has been named as the man who will be the second in command of overseeing policing from Yate<\/a> and Bristol to Minehead and Yeovil.<\/p>\n The Police and Crime Commissioner Clare Moody has told councillors in Somerset that she has decided she does need a deputy – it\u2019s optional – and she has chosen Mr Slocombe, the former head of the Mayor\u2019s Office at City Hall<\/a> in Bristol as her pick.<\/p>\n Mr Slocombe was a controversial figure during his eight years at City Hall<\/a>, with critics describing him as the \u2018power behind the throne\u2019 of Mayor Marvin Rees<\/a>. Since the mayoral post was abolished in 2024, he has worked in a consultancy role at the West of England Combined Authority, and for the police commissioner. Labour<\/a> \u2019s Clare Moody was elected to replace Conservative Mark Shelford in May 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n After more than a year in place without a deputy, Ms Moody said she now said she needs to appoint one, and they will be in place until the next PCC election in May 2028.<\/p>\n In a formal proposal to Somerset county councillors, Ms Moody said: \u201cMr Slocombe is well qualified for this role and meets the criteria outlined above.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has formerly held senior roles in the trade union movement, the Labour party<\/a> and in regional government, all of which give him the necessary experience to support my work delivering positive changes for people of Avon and Somerset,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a political appointment, and it is essential that I have complete confidence in the DPCC\u2019s ability to support the delivery of my vision and priorities,\u201d she has told councillors.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe the candidate I have selected brings the necessary and unusual combination of political awareness, strategic insight, and operational understanding required to deliver in this role.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Slocombe has been supporting me on a consultancy basis since May, focusing on public affairs strategy, and is able to take up the role of DPCC immediately, subject to the confirmation hearing. He possesses the skills, knowledge, and experience required to fulfil this role effectively,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Ms Moody, a former Labour MEP for the South West, told councillors why she now needed to employ a deputy commissioner.<\/p>\n \u201cThis appointment is driven by the need to respond rapidly to the demands of my Police and Crime Plan, the developing agenda of the government’s commitment to policing and to meet the expectations set out in the future policing reform agenda. Timely leadership and alignment at the top are critical to enabling me to deliver on these commitments,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The first Police and Crime Commissioner at Avon and Somerset, independent Sue Mountstevens appointed a deputy in 2020 – her chief executive John Smith. He then stood as an independent in the 2021 police commissioner elections, and came last.<\/p>\n Coincidentally, has found a new role as the executive director at Bristol City Council<\/a>, essentially taking on a role similar to the one previously done by Kevin Slocombe at City Hall for eight years.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Labour victory in Avon and Somerset police and crime commissioner vote<\/a>READ MORE: \u2018Massive under-reporting\u2019 of women telling Avon and Somerset Police about violent attacks<\/a><\/p>\n It is not known what Mr Slocombe\u2019s salary will be if his appointment is rubber-stamped by councillors. Previous deputy police and crime commissioners have been paid a pro rata salary of \u00a339,015 a year, for a three-day week.<\/p>\n Mr Slocombe\u2019s time at City Hall working saw him become more prominent and vital to the running of the Mayor\u2019s Office under Marvin Rees – to the point where it was suggested the public should get to elect a person to do his job<\/a> at the same time they elect the city\u2019s mayor.<\/p>\n He was a prominent figure in the TV documentary that followed the response of Marvin Rees<\/a> to the toppling of the statue of slavetrader Edward Colston in Bristol in 2020, and sparked controversy for his role in the scandal of the Redcatch Quarter<\/a> planning application in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“The candidate I have selected brings the necessary and unusual combination of political awareness, strategic insight, and operational…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[9312,381,3893,52570,748,188,393,4884,528,13072,285,16,15,14915],"class_list":{"0":"post-266354","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-avon-and-somerset-constabulary","9":"tag-bristol","10":"tag-bristol-city-council","11":"tag-bristol-mayor","12":"tag-britain","13":"tag-crime","14":"tag-england","15":"tag-great-britain","16":"tag-labour-party","17":"tag-marvin-rees","18":"tag-politics","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom","21":"tag-yate"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114862436159303744","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Clare](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1_Clare-Moody-Apr24.jpg\")
Clare Moody(Image: Labour Party)<\/p>\n