Candidates have been revealed for a Sunderland City Council by-election taking place next month following the resignation of an independent councillor.
The Redhill ward by-election will be held on Thursday, March 3, to fill the vacancy left by Keith Jenkins, who stepped down from the local authority in January 2022.
The councillor was one of three UKIP councillors elected to Sunderland City Council as part of a surge in popularity for the party in 2019.
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He and colleagues Pam Mann and Steven Bewick, representing St Anne’s and Ryhope respectively, formed an official UKIP group which was the third largest opposition group to Labour on the council, behind the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.
Following the collapse of the UKIP vote in the May 2021 local elections in Sunderland, the councillors announced they were quitting the party and would initially continue as independents.
Cllr Mann later joined the Conservative group on the council and both Cllr Jenkins and Cllr Bewick remained as independent councillors.
A by-election will now be held to fill the vacancy left in the Redhill ward after the departure of Cllr Jenkins.
Those wanting to stand as a candidate had to complete and return nomination papers by 4pm on Friday, February 4.
At the close of nominations, five candidates had put their names forward.
The candidates for the Redhill ward seat, in alphabetical order, are:
Steven Boyd DONKIN (Liberal Democrat)
Helmut IZAKS (Green Party)
Sue LEISHMAN (Conservative Party)
Ian LINES (UKIP Save Britain)
John Joseph USHER (Labour Party)
Applications to register to vote must reach the electoral registration officer by midnight on Tuesday, February 15 and can be made online here
The deadline to apply for a postal vote, or change a current postal vote, for the by-election is 5pm on Wednesday, February 16.
And the deadline to apply to vote by proxy (where someone votes on your behalf) is 5pm on Wednesday, February 23.
The Redhill ward has three seats, one of which will be contested at the by-election in March 2022.
In the latest round of local government elections on May 6, 2021, more than 2,000 votes were cast in Redhill out of a total electorate of 7,965 – a turnout of 25.4%.
Labour and Co-operative candidate Alison Smith won the election with a total of 1,019 votes, a 396-vote majority over Conservative candidate Paul James Anthony Burke who came second.
Details of the upcoming Redhill by-election can be found on Sunderland City Council’s website.
For more information, visit: https://www.sunderland.gov.uk/article/20229/Local-Government-by-election-Redhill-Ward-Thursday-3-March-2022
Questions about the Redhill by-election can also be directed to the council via email at elections@sunderland.gov.uk
