Candidates for the Bradley Stoke Town Council elections, which take place on the same day as the general election (Thursday 7th May), have been officially announced.
The Conservatives, who won all 15 seats on the town council at the last election in 2011, put up the highest number of candidates (15), followed by UKIP (8) and Labour (6). The Liberal Democrats, who controlled the council prior to the 2007 elections, do not field any candidates at all this time round.
The Conservatives have already picked up one seat by default, in Stoke Brook ward, where Keith Cranney stands unopposed. They are mathematically certain to win a further two seats, one in Baileys Court ward and the other in Primrose Bridge ward, because the other parties combined do not field sufficient candidates to win all the seats available in those wards.
Since the 2011 elections, three councillors elected as Conservatives have defected to UKIP: Ben Walker, Ed Rose (both Woodlands ward) and Kim Harris (Meadowbank ward). Ben Walker once again stands in Woodlands ward, Ed Rose stands in a different ward (Manor Farm), while Kim Harris is not seeking re-election.
Two Conservative councillors are also not standing again: Robert Jones in Baileys Court ward and Sarah Pomfret in Primrose Bridge ward.
Having defeated UKIP in all three by-elections held over the current session, the Conservatives will no doubt be hopeful of winning all 15 seats for the second time in four years.
In the new parish of Stoke Lodge and The Common, which recently split from Patchway, the nine seats on the council are being contested by nine Conservative candidates, six from UKIP and one independent. All of the UKIP candidates (and one Conservative) are also contesting seats on Bradley Stoke Town Council.
A full list of candidates for both councils is shown on our 2015 Town Elections page, which also provides a link to a map showing the boundaries of the seven town council wards in Bradley Stoke.
The Journal understands that votes in the town and parish elections will be counted on 8th May at Thornbury Leisure Centre, with the results being announced in the late afternoon/early evening.
Photo: Annual General Meeting of Bradley Stoke Town Council in 2011.
Related links:
- 2015 General Election in Filton and Bradley Stoke (The Journal)
- 2015 District Elections (The Journal)
How can candidates stand in multi wards? I thought you had to live in the ward you stood for.
I understand that candidate could stand for Parish, Council and Parliamentary elections, but not in two separate Parish elections.
@Simon, One qualification for standing is: “You have lived in the parish/community area or within three miles of it during the whole of the 12 months before the day of your nomination and the day of election.”
Source: http://bit.ly/1A2S2G6 (Electoral Commission)
The “within three miles of it” part probably enables anyone living in Bradley Stoke to also stand in Stoke Lodge and vice versa.
In the guidance for candidates and agents by the electoral commission it clearly states that a candidate can submit more than one nomination for more than one ward. But he or she must withdraw from all wards bar one by the nomination deadline. If not all nominations are deemed invalid.
I wonder what the returning officer of South Glos Council has to say about that. Check section 1.4
@rebecca strong, Section 1.4 applies to wards within the same parish.
What a disgrace the Liberals are. They have 5 candidates standing for South Glos Council which pays £11,000 per year, but none of the five are standing for Town Council which is totally unpaid. Do they really think the people of Bradley Stoke are that stupid. Sarah Pomfret of the conservatives is just as bad. You are supposed to stand for election to represent the people, not line your own pockets. At least the conservatives – excepting Pomfret- have put out a full team. Do any of the labour candidates actually live in Bradley Stoke? What a shower.
All a bunch of Muppets anyway!
I think you will find a large number of the conservative councillor candidates are purely paper candidates dragged in to make up numbers standing solely to try and get a single party majority. Which as we know has not done us, the constituents any favours for the last four years!!
Are we going to vote for the same bunch of councilors, who have not improved the traffic and seemed to made matters a lot worse. We need fresh blood to sort things out and not let the planners have their own way. Do we really need all these new houses or is it to keep the builders happy. We need councilors who are strong enough to stand up to the clique of Hockey, Calway and Allison.
For election results, see:
Another clean sweep for the Conservatives in district and town elections