By Jason Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter

The candidates have been unveiled for this year’s Southampton City Council local elections.

 

Seventeen of the council’s 51 seats – one in each ward – will be up for grabs when residents cast their vote on Thursday, May 2.

A total of 93 people have been nominated across the city. The contests see either five or six candidates throw their hats into the ring in each ward, respectively.

There are candidates for Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Green and Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition in every ward, while there are eight nominations from Reform UK.

The Labour group is currently the largest on Southampton City Council, with 37 of the 51 seats. There are nine Conservative and three Liberal Democrat councillors, as well as one Green and one independent. You can see a visualisation of the current political makeup of the council here, and also compare it to recent years.

How do I vote?
Polls open at 7am on Thursday, May 2, and close at 10pm. 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).

Residents must be on the electoral roll to vote. Register to vote online – the deadline is 11.59pm on Tuesday, April 16.

Voting by post is also an option. Applications for a postal vote must be received by 5pm on Wednesday, April 17.

Proxy votes can also be obtained in some circumstances – meaning someone else can vote on a resident’s behalf if they cannot make it to a polling station for a limited number of reasons. Applications for a proxy vote must be received by 5pm on Tuesday, April 24.

Applications can be made for an emergency proxy vote if, after the deadline has passed, a resident discovers they will not be able vote in person, including for medical or employment reasons. In such instances, residents can apply for a proxy vote until 5pm on election day itself.

Who can I vote for?
These are the candidates standing in nearby wards, along with the parties they are representing (an asterisk denotes an incumbent councillor in the ward):

Bitterne Park
Lindsi Bluemel – Green Party
Gordon John Cooper – Labour Party
David Fuller – Local Conservatives
Graham Michael Henry – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Nick Myers – Liberal Democrat
Adrian Royle – Reform UK

Harefield
Chris Bluemel – Green Party
Martyn Cooper – Liberal Democrat
Rob Harwood – Local Conservatives
Paul Robert Kenny – Labour Party
Barbara Webber – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

Peartree
Lori Foster – Green Party
Tara Foster – Liberal Democrat
Simon Jonathan Letts* – Labour and Co-operative Party
Michael Marx – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Susan Elizabeth Spencer – Local Conservatives
Sam Wright – Reform UK

Portswood
Caroline Jobson – Reform UK
Neil McKinnon Lyon Kelly – Green Party
John Langran – Liberal Democrat
Nicholas Moulton – Local Conservatives
John Savage* – Labour Party
Tony Twine – Trade Union and Socialist Coalition

 You can download a list of candidates standing in all city wards from the city council here.

What do I need to vote?
To vote in person at a polling station, residents 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):

• UK or Northern Ireland photocard driving licence (full or provisional) or driving licence issued by European Economic Area (EEA) country, the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands
• UK passport or passport issued by EEA or Commonwealth country
• blue badge
• older person’s bus pass
• disabled person’s bus pass
• Oyster 60+ Card
• Freedom Pass
• identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card)
• biometric residence permit
• Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card)
• national identity card issued by an EEA state

Where do I vote?
The polling card sent to voters ahead of the election will tell them at which polling station they must cast their vote on May 2.