Local elections It’s not just the general election taking place on May 7, there's also a local election to decide who runs Southampton City Council. We take a look at who's standing in the Bitterne Park ward – which includes the suburbs of Bitterne Park, Bitterne Manor, Midanbury and Townhill Park – and at what happened at the last local elections.
• What the general election candidates say in Southampton Itchen
In Southampton there are 16 wards, and each ward elects three city councillors to represent it. Councillors are elected in 'thirds' for a four-year term, so there's an election in three out of every four years to elect one of the three ward councillors..
Despite the Itchen constituency, which includes Bitterne Park, voting Labour at general elections since 1992, in Bitterne Park ward all three councillors are currently Conservative.
On May 7, the seat currently held by Conservative Cllr Peter Baillie, who's been on the council since 2002, is up for election. Baillie is not re-standing .
What happened last time?
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At the 2014 local elections for Bitterene Park ward, John Inglis for the Conservatives won the seat polling 1191 votes. Labour’s Trevor Cooper was second with 980, and UKIP’s Adrian Cook took third place with 810 votes. http://www.bitternepark.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2317:bitterne-park-elects-tory&catid=1:local-news&Itemid=59
2014 Result
Conservative: 1191
Labour: 980
UKIP: 810
Green: 346
Liberal Democrat: 296
Independent: 110
TUSC: 42
Who can I vote for on the 7 May?
There are six candidates standing this time:
BLUEMEL, Lindsi (Green Party
BOULTON, Linda (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition)
FULLER, David (Conservative)
GODSELL, Andrew (Labour)
JAY, Richard, (UKIP)
READ, James (Liberal Democrats)
• What the general election candidates say in Southampton Itchen