People Against Bureaucracy (PAB) is a minor political party in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.[1] The party currently holds one seat on Cheltenham Borough Council: party leader Stan Smith representing the Prestbury ward. Following the 2024 local elections in Cheltenham, this remains PAB's only seat on the council, with the other represented parties being the Greens, and the Liberal Democrats.[2]
The party is affiliated to The Local Government Association Independent Group.[3]
It was founded in 1976 to oppose development on green belt land and reduce council bureaucracy. It aimed to elect councillors to Tewkesbury Borough Council, later representing the same areas at Cheltenham Borough Council following council boundary changes.[3]
By the 2006 Cheltenham Borough Council election PAB held 5 seats. However, the party has seen a steady decline in popular vote share since that time, losing all but one of these council seats by 2024.[4]
A by-election for the Prestbury ward was held in October 2023, after PAB councillor John Payne resigned.[5][6] It was won by the party's candidate Stan Smith, although with an 8.5% drop in vote share.[7]
In the 2024 Cheltenham Borough Council election the party lost one of its two seats on the council to the Green Party, leaving Stan Smith as the party's only remaining elected representative.[8][9]
At the 2009 Gloucestershire County Council election PAB held two seats in Cheltenham. One of these was then lost in the 2013 Gloucestershire County Council election. Finally, the remaining PAB seat was lost in the 2021 Gloucestershire County Council election to the Conservatives, due to not running any candidates.[10][11]
The stated principles of PAB are: