Council elections: Here are all the candidates standing in the 2024 Wakefield Council elections
and live on Freeview channel 276
Voters will go to the polls on Thursday, May 2 when 22 of 63 council seats will be up for grabs.
Twelve of the seats will be contested by serving councillors, with ten others not seeking re-election.
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Hide AdSix independent councillors have not put their names forward for re-election.
They are: Raymond Massey (Ackworth, North Elmsall and Upton), Paul Stockhill (Crofton, Ryhill and Walton), Tony Homewood (Ossett), Akef Akbar (Wakefield East), Richard Hunt (Wakefield South) and Annemarie Glover (Wrenthorpe and Outwood West).
Two councillors will be elected in Normanton ward following the resignation of Labour councillor Isabel Owen last month.
Labour’s Julie Medford will be seeking re-election in the ward along with party colleague Daniel Wilton
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Hide AdThe Conservatives will also field two candidates in Normanton.
Two other Labour councillors not standing for re-election are Pauline Kitchen (Hemsworth) and Lorna Malkin (Pontefact North).
Tory councillor Cynthia Binns is not standing for re-election in Wakefield Rural.
Ian Saunders is standing for the Conservatives in Rural ward a year after losing his seat to Labour’s Jordan Bryan by just 14 votes.
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Hide AdThirteen of the 22 seats up for election are held by Labour, six are held by independents, two by the Conservatives and one by the Liberal Democrats.
Lib Dem Adele Hayes will be standing to defend Kottingley and former Tory group leader Tony Hames is seeking re-election in Pontefract South.
Labour is the ruling group on the council with 48 seats.
The Conservatives have five, the Lib Dems have three and there are seven independent councillors.
A total of 91 candidates are standing for election across all council wards.
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Hide AdLabour, Conservatives and The Green Party are competing in every seat.
The Yorkshire Party have candidates in seven wards.
Wakefield and District Independents and the Lib Dems each have six candidates.
The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition is fielding four candidates and there are two Reform UK candidates.
The Heritage Party has one candidate standing in Wrenthorpe and Outwood West.
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Hide AdMark Harrop is seeking election as an independent councillor in Horbury and South Ossett ward.
Wakefield Council is encouraging residents to visit a library in the district if they need help to use their vote.
Anyone who needs help with applying for a postal vote, a proxy vote or voter authority certificate can get help to complete the online application.
Gillian Marshall, the council’s electoral registration officer, said: “It’s really important that all our residents are able to have their say in the upcoming elections.
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Hide Ad“We recognise that for some, completing the relevant forms, especially online, can be tricky and that’s why we have trained our friendly library staff to be able to offer help and support so that you can use your vote this May.”
Residents have until midnight on April 16 to make sure they are registered to vote.
It is quick and simple to register by visiting www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
People will need their date of birth and National Insurance number to be able to register.
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Hide AdThe deadline to apply for a new postal vote or a new postal proxy vote, or to make changes to existing postal or proxy postal votes is 5pm on Wednesday, April 17.
Photographic identification is now required to vote at a polling station.
Passports, driving licences, bus passes and disabled badges can be used.
A full list of all acceptable identity documents is available at www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate
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Hide AdAnyone who does not have one of the required forms of photo ID will be able to get a free voter authority certificate from the council.
To apply, visit www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate.
The candidates, listed in alphabetical order, are:
Ackworth, North Elmsall and Upton – Ward 1
Jody Gabriel – Green Party
Dylan Nykamp – Conservative
Martin Roberts – Labour
Airedale and Ferry Fryston – Ward 2
Jackie Ferguson – Labour
John Ingham – Green Party
Neil Kennedy – Wakefield District Independents
Eamonn Mullins – Conservative
Altofts and Whitwood – Ward 3
Peter Forster – Conservative
Krys Holmes – Green Party
Josie Pritchard – Labour
John Thomas – Wakefield District Independents
Castleford Central and Glasshoughton – Ward 4
Stephen Brennan – Green Party
Richard Forster – Labour
Paul Phelps – Yorkshire Party
Joanne Smart – Conservative
Crofton, Ryhill and Walton – Ward 5
Elizabeth Cowton – Conservative
Faith Heptinstall – Labour
Garry Newby – Green Party
Featherstone – Ward 6
Cynthia Dickenson – Green Party
Anthony Hill – Conservative
Maureen Tennant-King – Labour
Hemsworth – Ward 7
Michael Johnson – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Laura Jones – Labour
Lyn Morton – Green Party
Doreen Smart – Conservative
Horbury and South Ossett – Ward 8
Darren Byford – Labour
Madalena Coutinho – Conservative
Mark Goodair – Liberal Democrats
Mark Harrop – Independent
Richard Norris – Green Party
Knottingley – Ward 9
Theo Biddle – Labour
Adele Hayes – Liberal Democrats
Ruth Love – Green Party
Amy Swift – Conservative
Normanton – Ward 10 (Two to be elected)
John Clayton – Green Party
Julie Medford – Labour
Tomas Mestre – Conservative
Cliff Parsons – Wakefield and District Independents
Chad Thomas – Conservative
Daniel Wilton – Labour
Ossett – Ward 11
Simon Biltcliffe – Yorkshire Party
Karl Clough – Conservative
Tony Sargeant – Liberal Democrats
Stephen Scott – Green Party
Sandra Senior – Reform UK
Duncan Smith – Labour
Pontefract North – Ward 12
Helen Antcliff – Labour
Jack Crosswaite – Conservative
Chris Dawson – Yorkshire Party
Emma Tingle – Green Party
Pontefract South – Ward 13
Julie Craig – Labour
Tony Hames – Conservatives
Oliver Watkins – Green Party
South Elmsall and South Kirkby – Ward 14
Michelle Collins – Labour
Stefan Ludewig – Green Party
Daniel Wrightson – Conservative
Stanley and Outwood East – Ward 15
Richard Copeland – Green Party
Darren Lumber – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Matthew Morley – Labour
Jenny Prest – Wakefield and District Independents
Margaret Woolmer – Conservatives
Wakefield East – Ward 16
Naeem Formuli – Conservative
Michael Griffiths – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Janet Mackintosh – Green Party
Natalie Walton – Labour
Wakefield North – Ward 17
Tom Griffiths – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Ashton Howick – Green Party
Andy Mack – Yorkshire Party
Elizabeth Rhodes – Labour
Tim Woolmer – Conservative
Wakefield Rural – Ward 18
David Herdson – Yorkshire Party
Mark Lord – Liberal Democrats
Andy Nicholls – Labour
Karen Sadler – Green Party
Ian Sanders – Conservative
Wakefield South – Ward 19
Daniel Cochran – Yorkshire Party
Kate Dodd – Green Party
James Hardwick – Conservative
Shabaan Saleem – Labour
Wakefield West – Ward 20
Susan Hayes – Liberal Democrats
John Higson – Conservative
Hilary Mitchell – Labour
Susan Stretton – Heritage Party
Laura Towle – Green Party
Wrenthorpe and Outwood West – Ward 21
Waj Ali – Conservatives
David Dews – Reform UK
Brendan Fraser – Labour
Brent Hawksley – Yorkshire Party
Daniel Russell – Green Party
Nic Stansby – Wakefield and District Independents
Janet Walton – Liberal Democrats