By Jason Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter and bitternepark.info

Here are the candidate profiles received from those seeking your vote in the May 7 local elections in Portswood ward, which includes St Denys and Highfield.
• May 7 local elections: Meet your 2026 Bitterne Park ward candidates

 

Seventeen of the council’s 51 seats – one in each ward – will be up for grabs and a total of 101 people have been nominated across the city.

Labour currently holds a majority with 31 councillors, while the Conservatives have nine councillors and the Liberal Democrats have seven.

There are two elected Green members, one Reform councillor and one independent.

A full set of 17 candidates have been put forward by the Conservatives, Greens, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition has 14 candidates and there are two independents.

How Portswood voted last time

There are three councillors for Portswood ward. Currently two of these are held by Labour, and a third is one of the city’s Green councillors. This election is for Labour councillor Marie Finn's seat that is at the end of its current term.

There were no local elections in Southampton in 2025 as there is always a ‘gap’ in the timetable every fourth year.

In 2024 Labour retained control of the council, and John Savage held the seat for Labour with 1,401 votes. He secured a 521 majority over the Green candidate Neil Kelly, who polled 880. Third was Nicholas Moulton for the Conservatives on 365 votes. The Lib Dem, Reform and TUSC candidates came fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

The turnout in Portswood ward was 36.5%.

Who’s standing this time – and what do they stand for?
Each nominee for Portswood ward in the coming election was invited to submit a100-word profile. These are the six candidates and the responses ahead of residents going to the polls.

Matt Bunday – Liberal Democrats

I have lived in the area for most of my life, attending local schools and using services.  Portswood is a fantastic place to live but more can be done.
I have served as a councillor since 2019 and so am able to bring experience of working with residents to achieve clear outcomes, being a loud voice for you when needed.
I would work hard to make improvements to Portswood Broadway, improve local bus routes and reduce litter and fly-tipping.  I would lobby the university to publish a longer-term local plan and look to improve our river quality and biodiversity.

David Chapman – Reform UK

I live locally with my family and have three children all in a local nursery or Hollybrook School. I have 17 years’ experience in business, and I want to use this knowledge to encourage sound financial management of the council. I am keen to make sure the council supports local people with the cost of living as a priority by keeping bills down and ensuring council money is spent on the needs of voters. As your councillor we need to support our businesses in Portswood to help them grow and develop which is at the heart of any local economy.

Marie Finn – Labour and Co-operative Party

I am local, approachable and hard working. As a councillor, I have supported residents with issues including waste, renters’ rights, anti-social behaviour and social care concerns. My successes include children’s parks improvements, new public bins and CCTV to catch fly tippers. My priorities are clean air around schools, better rented housing conditions and enforcement for fly tipping and anti-social behaviour. I also want to see a bus route for Westwood Road and Highfield Lane. I am active in local community groups. To relax, I walk our family foxhound and am a long-standing Saints season ticket holder.

Lori Foster – Green Party

An active member of the community, I’m committed to Portswood, to ensure we get the clean air, well-funded care, quality housing, and healthy rivers we all deserve.
Having raised deputations at Southampton City Council questioning cuts of £39 million of funds from children and adult social care, and highlighting that the city is not acting on idling and air quality outside schools, I will continue holding the administration to account.
Bills continue to rise, wages stagnate,  austerity bites, with ever-increasing cuts and poor value for residents. I stand for real, practical change and hope – a break from business as usual.

Nick Moulton – Local Conservatives

I am a lifelong Southampton resident, now retired, and a former national account manager for a pharmaceutical company. I want a council that delivers good quality, value for money services and stops wasting residents’ money on pet Labour projects and ideological schemes such as the Portswood Broadway bus gate. I was pleased to support the campaign to scrap that scheme and am now campaigning to ensure future investment is focused on what residents actually want, safer, well-maintained roads and pavements.

Tony Twine – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

I’m standing in the Portswood local election as an independent TUSC activist. Against a backdrop of the worst cost-of-living crisis in living memory I support a people’s budget that includes a programme of sustainable social housing, capped rents, renewed public services and infrastructure, inflation-proof wages for council workers. I am convenor of Southampton Stop the War coalition which holds regular citywide anti-war activity, while in Portswood ward I’ve been active in local ongoing counter-protests against racist intimidation of refugees and migrants. If elected I will fight for council transparency, democratic accountability and monthly constituent-lead surgeries. Thank you.

• May 7 local elections: Meet your 2026 Bitterne Park ward candidates