With council elections due to take place next week, we’re shining the spotlight on Sunderland’s candidates in the run-up to polling day. Voters will head to polling stations on Thursday, May 2, to either re-elect or replace holders of around a third of seats on Sunderland City Council. All candidates have been given the opportunity to tell readers why they’re standing and why you should vote for them. Here’s what candidates in the Barnes ward have to say: Candidates are listed in the order...
Manor Castle ward stretches from the edge of the city centre, encompassing Park Hill, Wybourn and Manor estates. Labour will be keen to retain the seat on May 2, where Coun Sioned-Mair Richards, a recent Lord Mayor, has stepped down. It was all-Labour until former council leader Coun Terry Fox was one of eight party members to defect to the Sheffield Community Councillors group. For Labour, Elle Dodds said: “I’m passionate about everyone getting their views heard, and having the chance to shape...
The Sheffield Palestine Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid is urging supporters to ask election candidates about their views on the current conflict in Gaza. Leaders of the four political groups on the city council issued a joint statement just ahead of the start of the March pre-election period in response to a 7,500-signature petition calling on the council to stand in “unity and solidarity” with Palestinians, as they did with Ukrainians. The petition also welcomed the work of the...
Neither Cllr Tom Hunt, the leader of the council, nor Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, have to stand this year – but Cllr Douglas Johnson from the Green Party does. Cllr Johnson, the leader of his group, was able to win comfortably in 2021 and now he is aiming to do that again, keeping the City ward a Green ward. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “I’m a councillor for City ward, I was elected in 2016 and again in 2021. “I chair the council’s housing...
Months after last year’s count when Cllr Terry Fox the then leader of Sheffield Council resigned, several councillors (including Cllr Fox) exited Sheffield Labour too and created the Sheffield Community Councillors Group in the council chamber. One of those councillors was Cllr Tony Damms who is standing to be re-elected in Southey ward. Can he win as an independent candidate? Cllr Damms told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “I am proud to represent Southey ward as I have since...
Mosborough ward is at the south-east edge of the city, part of the Sheffield Townships on the borders of North East Derbyshire. The ward, home to Crystal Peaks shopping centre, also encompasses the suburbs of Mosborough, Halfway, Westfield, Waterthorpe and Holbrook. The council’s two main parties, Labour and the LibDems, are battling it out in the south-east of Sheffield and currently, the ward has two Labour councillors and one LibDem. Labour candidate Tony Downing said: “I’ve been honoured to...
Ecclesall ward is popular with young professionals and their families and students. Ecclesall Road is a long-standing upmarket shopping and entertainment area. The ward is all LibDem but the Greens would like to make headway in the area. Labour are focusing on public transport and their future vision for the city. Lisa Markham, standing for Labour, said: “As a local resident I want to be part of a Labour team which listens to and supports local communities and businesses. We need to work...
Graves Park ward has been a strong basis for the Liberal Democrats but as Cllr Ian Auckland is retiring the seat is up for grabs. The Lib Dems are trying to keep the ward as an all-orange one – they’ve got all three councillors at the moment – but it will not be easy, as we already mentioned in our Sheffield battlegrounds article. The Liberal Democrats will try to win with Tariq Zaman. He said: “I grew up and have lived locally for the past 46 years, and my children attended local schools. I...
Gleadless Valley is one of the few wards in Sheffield with three Green councillors. This year, it’s Cllr Alexi Dimond’s turn to try and get re-elected, and it looks like he should be winning comfortably. Cllr Dimond has been perhaps the most known council member of his group on social media posting about a wide range of (local and international) issues. He said: “It has been an immense privilege representing this ward for the past three years. I’m dedicated to continuing the good work serving...
Just like it’s the case with Labour in Darnall or the Greens in the city centre, the Liberal Democrats should do very well in Fulwood, in one of their all-orange wards in Sheffield. Incumbent councillor Sue Alston won easily last time she was called to stand and we shouldn’t expect any surprise this year, either. Then, who knows? Cllr Alston said: “My main career was as an NHS midwife – but I have also been a local councillor in Fulwood ward for the past 12 years. I believe that I am the best...
The current Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Coun Colin Ross, is standing down from the city council as his term as first citizen comes to an end next month. So the question is whether the LibDems can retain his Dore and Totley seat in the May 2 city council elections or if another party is ready to fill his “massive shoes” instead. The ward, in an affluent area, is currently all LibDem, with the other two seats held by Couns Joe Otten and Martin Smith. The party’s candidate Rebecca Atkinson said: “Coun...
One of the most important wards in this election is the one in Crookes and Crosspool where Labour is trying to hold the seat and the Liberal Democrats are trying to gain with the council on the line. At the moment, Labour has only two seats more than the LibDems in the town hall (31-29), and as Crookes and Crosspool is in the Sheffield Hallam constituency where Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed, the leader of the LibDems, is standing at the next general election, May 2 is going to be a big test for both...