Hundreds in the frame for county council’s elections

Deadline to register to vote passed this week

NEARLY 250 people are standing as candidates in this year’s Staffordshire County Council elections.

With the deadline for nominations passed, 243 people are standing for election to 62 county council seats in 60 divisions.

County council elections are held every four years and voting will take place on Thursday, May 6, by post or at local polling stations, with the results announced on Saturday, May 8.

The elections will be fiercely contested in all of the seven Staffordshire Moorlands wards.

John Tradewell, Staffordshire County Council’s director of corporate services, said: “The county council has an annual budget of more than £500million and its services touch the lives of every resident in the county.

“Whether it’s protecting vulnerable children and commissioning care for the elderly; delivering highways maintenance and gritting roads in winter; or investing in the economy for the future, the decisions about how these and many other services are delivered week in week out are taken by Staffordshire residents elected by their local communities.

“If people want to influence how key services are delivered on their doorstep, they should make sure they cast their vote – either by post, or on Thursday, May 6.”

The deadline to register to vote was 11.59pm on Monday, while the deadline to register for a postal vote was 5pm yesterday.

If you wish to nominate someone else to cast the vote for you at the polling station, that proxy vote must be applied for by 5pm on Tuesday, April 27.

Anyone who is not registered, or is unsure whether they are, should contact their borough or district council, or they can register online. There will also be two by-elections on the same day for two new district councillors in Cheadle and for a new Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire. In the district council seats for

Cheadle North East Ward the candidates are: Stephen Andrew Ellis (Conservative); Debra Jayne Gratton (Labour); Dan Mayers (The Green Party); Paulette Upton (Independent); Liz Whitehouse (Independent).

Cheadle South East Ward: Jamie Evans (Independent); Liz Haines (Labour); Peter Mark Jackson (Conservative); Colin William Pearce (Independent); Alan David John Thomas (Independent); Daniella Vickerstaff (The Green Party).

In the election for a new Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire here are the five candidates. They are: Ben Adams (Conservative); Deneice Florencejukes (Independent); Tony Kearon (Labour and Co-operative Party); Michael Andrew Riley (Reform UK); Richard Mark Whelan (Liberal Democrats).

If people want to influence how services are delivered on their doorstep, they should cast their vote John Tradewell