Everything you need to know about the May 2019 local elections: Great Yarmouth edition

Great Yarmouth Borough Council leader, Graham Plant. Picture Neil Perry (Image: Archant)

Great Yarmouth Borough Council is made up of 39 elected councillors, split across 17 wards.

The council is Conservative-led, with 22 of the 39 members representing the Tories. All but one of the remaining 16 are Labour, with Chris Walch sitting as an Independent. There has been a Conservative majority since 2018, after the UK Independence Party lost 10 of its then 11 seats on the council.

How many seats are up for grabs?

All 39 seats, following a local referendum in 2017 which saw the borough opt for full elections every four years. Previously, the council had held elections on a cycle, with a third of the seats up each time.

What are the main talking points going into the election?

In previous elections in the borough, much of the talk was about Ukip – at its height it held 11 of the 39 seats. However, after a number of defections and a catastrophic 2018 result, the party was wiped out.

This time, the party is pinning its hopes on three individuals – two of whom are standing in the same ward. Michael Riley and Saul Smith are hoping to upset Labour’s hold on the Nelson ward, while Carrie Talbot is standing in Central and Northgate.

Neither of the wards in which Ukip have put forward candidates currently have Conservative councillors.

One of the most vulnerable seats in the most recent elections was the Yarmouth North ward, which Conservative councillor Katy Stenhouse narrowly gained from Ukip – with 77 more votes than Labour’s John Simmons. She had previously been elected in the ward as a Ukip candidate, but defected to the Conservatives.

The narrow victory and the defection may both have influenced this campaign, as she is one of three candidates standing in Bradwell South and Hopton this time around.

Instead, the Tories have put forward Paul and Donna Hammon in Yarmouth North, with Labour pinning their hopes on James Borg and Sanda Lysaght.

The Yarmouth North ward will also see Dave Harding – a representative from a relatively new party, the Veterans and People’s Party – standing.

Across the borough, the vast majority of the candidates are from the two largest parties – Conservative and Labour. The Tories have fielded 39 candidates, while Labour have fielded 29. There are three Ukip candidates, three independent candidates and one from the Veterans and People’s Party.

The Liberal Democrats are fielding no candidates.

Who is leading each group and where are they standing?

The Conservative leader, and current leader of the borough council, is Graham Plant – one of three Tory candidates standing in Bradwell North. Currently, the ward has three councillors – Mr Plant and fellow Conservatives Alan Grey and Carl Smith.

When last up for election in 2018, Mr Plant held onto his seat by a majority of 420 votes over Labour’s Jo Thurtle, who will once again be hoping to unseat him.

Also standing in Bradwell North are Mr Smith and Daniel Candon – also Conservative, meaning two of the three seats in the ward are almost guaranteed to be Conservative.

The Labour group is led by Trevor Wainwright, who sits in the Magdalen ward.

Both groups have fielded three candidates in the ward, with former councillor Colleen Walker looking to regain a seat on the council, having lost the Claydon ward to Ukip in 2014.

Where do I go to vote? Anything else I need to know?

The 46 polling stations open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday, May 2. Voters already registered to vote will have already be receiving polling cards, but those yet to register have until Friday, April 12, to do so.

Full details of where your nearest polling station can be found on Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s website. To register to vote visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote or contact 01493 846327.

What if I can’t get to a polling station?

Those who are unable to get to a polling station on May 2 have a range of options to still participate in the process.

You can either apply to vote either by post or by proxy by contacting 01493 846327.

Who are the candidates?

Bradwell North

• Daniel Candon (C)

• Graham Plant (C)

• Carl Smith (C)

• Jo Thurtle (L)

Bradwell South & Hopton

• Carl Annison (C)

• David Greggs (L)

• Sue Hacon (C)

• Katy Stenhouse (C)

Caister North

• Andrew Booth (L)

• Graham Carpenter (C)

• Penny Carpenter (C)

Caister South

• Ivan Ammon (L)

• Malcolm Bird (C)

• Alison Green (L)

• Brian Lawn (C)

Central & North

• Philip Grimmer (C)

• Ayeshia Young (C)

• Jade Martin (L)

• Karen Pollard (C)

• John Simmons (L)

• Mike Smith-Clare (L)

• Carrie Talbot (Ukip)

• Chris Walch (I)

Claydon

• Carl Borg (L)

• Gary Boyd (C)

• Lionel O’Dell (C)

• Alan Popham (C)

• Cara Walker (L)

• Bernard Williamson (L)

East Flegg

• James Bensly (C)

• Noel Galer (C)

• Harriet Bush (L)

Fleggburgh

• Haydn Thirtle (C)

• Adrian Thompson (I)

• Claire Wardley (L)

Gorleston

• Emma Flaxman-Taylor (C)

• Ron Upton (L)

• Paul Wells (C)

Lothinghand

• Tracy Cameron (C)

• David Drewitt (C)

• Adrian Myers (I)

• Hilary Williams (L)

Magdalen

• Natasha Allen (C)

• Izzye Odam (C)

• Patricia Page (C)

• Trevor Wainwright (L)

• Brian Walker (L)

• Colleen Walker (L)

Nelson

• Margaret Farrow (C)

• Michael Jeal (L)

• Michael Riley (Ukip)

• Kerry Robinson-Payne (L)

• George Rogers (C)

• Saul Smith (Ukip)

• Lynn Stock (C)

• Tony Wright (L)

Ormesby

• Geoffrey Freeman (C)

• Craig Guy (L)

• Ron Hanton (C)

• Steve Scott-Greenard (I)

St Andrews

• Marlene Fairhead (L)

• Ann Lawn (C)

• Max Peace (C)

• Barbara Wright (L)

Southtown & Cobholm

• Thomas Allen (C)

• Cathy Cordiner-Achenbach (L)

• Paula Waters-Bunn (L)

• Bob Whitaker (C)

West Flegg

• Edd Bush (L)

• Andy Grant (C)

• Leslie Mogford (C)

Yarmouth North

• James Borg (L)

• Donna Hammond (C)

• Paul Hammond (C)

• Dave Harding (Veterans and

People’s Part)

• Sandy Lysaght (L)