The candidates have been set out for this year’s Preston City Council local elections.
Sixteen of the authority’s 48 seats are up grabs at the poll on 2 May – one in each ward.
The majority of the contests will be three-way tussles between candidates representing the trio of parties that currently make up the council – the ruling Labour group, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.
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However, four candidates will go head-to-head in five of the wards, where independents and representatives of smaller parties have also thrown their hat into the ring.
How do I vote?
The polls will be open on Thursday, 2 May from 7am until 10pm – and voters must take a suitable form of photo ID with them in order to cast their ballot in person (see ‘What do I need to vote?’ section below).
Anybody not currently on the electoral roll must ensure they register to vote – the deadline for which is 16th April.
Voting by post is also an option. Applications for a postal vote must be received by 17th April and ballot papers must arrive at Preston Town Hall by polling day. If it gets too late to post your vote back, you can take it to your local polling station on the day of the election, up until 10pm.
Proxy votes can also be obtained in some circumstances – meaning someone else can vote on your behalf if you cannot make it to a polling station.for a limited number of reasons. Applications for a proxy vote must be received by 24th April.
However, you can apply for an emergency proxy vote if you discover only after that deadline has passed that you will not be able vote in person, including for medical or employment reasons. In such instances, you can apply for a proxy vote until 5pm on election day itself.
Voter registration can be completed and postal and ordinary proxy votes obtained online. Alternatively, call Preston City Council on 01772 906908.
Who can I vote for?
These are the candidates in each of Preston City Council’s 16 wards, along with the parties they represent (an asterisk denotes an incumbent councillor in the ward):
Ashton
Daniel Duckworth – Conservative Party
James Hull* – Labour Party
Rebecca Potter – Liberal Democrats
Brookfield
Edward Craven – Liberal Democrats
Sara Holmes – Labour Party
Al-Yasa Khan – Conservative Party
Cadley
Paul Balshaw – Independent
Jono Grisdale – Labour Party
Sarah Hart – Conservative Party
Julie Van Mierlo – Liberal Democrats
City Centre
Salim Desai* – Labour and Co-operative Party
Peter Lawrence – Liberal Democrats
Andy Pratt – Conservative Party
Deepdale
Siraz Natha* – Labour Party
Hasan Tunay – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Jurgen Voges – Liberal Democrats
Nilli Williamson – Conservative Party
Fishwick and Frenchwood
Alana Mullen – Liberal Democrats
Martyn Rawlinson* – Labour and Co-operative Party
Ishaq Vaez – Conservative Party
Garrision
Claire Craven – Liberal Democrats
Peter Kelly* – Labour Party
Lakwinder Singh – Conservative Party
Greyfriars
Avery Greatorex – Labour Party
Dave Leme Da Silva – Conservative Party
Michael Peak – Liberal Democrats
Ingol and Cottam
Trevor Hart* – Conservative Party
Adam Malik – Labour Party
David Preston – Reform UK
Ben Ward – Liberal Democrats
Lea and Larches
Ann Cowell – Independent
Mark Jewell – Liberal Democrats
Jenny Mein* – Labour Party
Tracy Slater – Conservative Party
Plungington
Nweeda Khan* – Labour Party
Martin McKeever – Conservative Party
Cristina Mylroie – Liberal Democrats
Joel Patton – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Preston Rural East
Mark Bell* – Conservative Party
Victoria Blundell – Labour Party
Joanne Joyner – Liberal Democrats
Preston Rural North
Taylor Donoghue-Smith – Labour Party
Daniel Guise – Liberal Democrats
Keith Middlebrough* – Conservative Party
Ribbleton
Kate Bosman – Liberal Democrats
Anna Hindle* – Labour and Co-operative Party
Mary Kennedy – Conservative Party
Sharoe Green
George Kulbacki – Liberal Democrats
Mark Routledge – Labour Party
David Walker* – Conservative Party
St. Matthews
Sohaib Ashraf – Conservative Party
Suleman Sarwar* – Labour and Co-operative Party
Rene Van Mierlo – Liberal Democrats
What do I need to vote?
To vote in person at a polling station, you will need one of the following forms of photo identification (the ID is permitted to be out of date, but must still be a good likeness of you):
***a passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, a European Economic Area (EEA state) or a Commonwealth country;
***a photo driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or an EEA state;
***a blue badge ;
***an older person’s bus pass;
***a disabled person’s bus pass;
***an Oyster 60+ Card;
*** a Freedom Pass;
***an identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card);
***a biometric immigration document;
***a Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card);
*** a national identity card issued by an EEA state.
If you do not have any of the above forms ID, you should apply for a Voter Authority Certificate by the deadline of 5pm on 24 April.
Where do I vote?
The polling card sent to your address ahead of the election will tell you at which polling station you must cast your vote.
This year, a new polling station has been established for voters in part of the Greyfriars ward. Electors living in the GR2 polling district should use the new facility, which will be based at St Martin’s Parish Hall, Broadway, Fulwood (postcode: PR2 9TH). For those residents only, it will replace the polling station at Our Lady and St Edward’s Parish Centre, Marlborough Drive, Fulwood (postcode: PR2 9UE).
However, voters in the PR1 polling district will continue to use the parish centre facility as normal.
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