Election candidates announced

VOTERS in 17 of Thurrock’s 20 wards will be going to the polls on Thursday, 3 May, and on Wednesday this week (4 April) the list of candidates was made public.

There will be no polling in three of Thurrock’s wards — Little Thurrock Rectory, Stifford Clays and Tilbury Riverside and Thurrock Park.

All the 17 wards will have a choice of at least four candidates with the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats standing in each. The UK Independence Party is standing in 16.

Several wards will have five candidates (see full list below).

Among the others standing are Independents, the British National Party, and the National Front.

The first Thursday in May will also see the final terms for five councillors who are standing down this year — Amanda Prevost (Aveley), Amanda Arnold (Ockendon), Diane Revell (Orsett), Steve Veryard (South Chafford) and Danny Nicklen (Stanford East and Corringham Town).

There is also the chance of former councillors returning to the authority with Barry Johnson (Ockendon), Gareth Davies (West Thurrock and South Stifford) and Roisin Hewitt (Orsett) putting their names forward again.

Polling stations in the 17 wards will open at 7am and close at 10pm on Thursday, 3 May. There is no election for Thurrock Council scheduled for 2013.

Full list of candidates (current party holder in brackets)

Aveley and Uplands (Con)

Colin Adams (Con)

Paul Burton (LibDem)

Alan Field (Ind)

Clifford Holloway (Lab)

Robert Ray (UKIP)

Belhus (Lab)

Chris Baker (UKIP)

Sue Gray (Lab)

John Livermore (LibDem)

David Morgan (Con)

Chadwell St Mary (Lab)

James Baker (UKIP)

Derek Beackon (NF)

Dawn Evans (Con)

Gerard Rice (Lab)

Tracy Rowe (LibDem)

Chafford and North Stifford (Con)

Andre Anderson (Lab)

Alan Broad (UKIP)

James Donald (Lib Dem)

Garry Hague (Con)

Corringham and Fobbing (vacant, elected Con in 2008)

Peter Fox (UKIP)

Kevin McNamara (LibDem)

Andrew Roast (Con)

Theresa Wodehouse (Lab)

East Tilbury (Ind)

Jasvinder Jassel (Lab)

Barry Palmer (Ind)

Amanda Redsell (UKIP)

Robert Smillie (Con)

Luke Tyson (LibDem)

Grays Riverside (Lab)

Clive Broad (UKIP)

John Kent (Lab)

Thomas Mayhew (BNP)

Kevin Mulroue (Lib Dem)

Chris Scalise (Con)

Grays Thurrock (Lab)

Rita Ajidagba (Con)

Jagdev Singh Bal (UKIP)

Tom Davis (NF)

Yash Gupta (Lab)

William Jackson (LibDem)

Little Thurrock Blackshots (Con)

Claire Jones (LibDem)

Raj Mistry (UKIP)

Eileen O’Reilly (Lab)

Joycelyn Redsell (Con)

Ockendon (Con)

Barry Johnson (Con)

Martin Kerin (Lab)

Maggie O’Keeffe-Ray (UKIP)

David Shirley (LibDem)

Orsett (Con)

Roisin Hewitt (Lab)

Susan Little (Con)

Steven Mason (UKIP)

Ashley Snell (LibDem)

South Chafford (Con)

Lee Coppin (UKIP)

Charlie Key (Con)

Gus Nwanze (Lab)

Matthew Orbell (LibDem)

Stanford East and Corringham Town (Con)

Natalie Butcher (LibDem)

Ben Gadsby (Con)

Roy Jones (UKIP)

Thomas McGinn (NF)

Richard Speight (Lab)

Stanford-le-Hope West (Lab, elected Con in 2008)

Chris Greenaway (LibDem)

Eddie Hardiman (Con)

Terry Hipsey (Lab)

Terry Piccolo (Ind)

Stuart St Clair-Haslam (UKIP)

The Homesteads (Con)

Kirsty Beard (LibDem)

Sue MacPherson (Con)

Peter Prendergast (UKIP)

Liam Preston (Lab)

Tilbury St Chad’s (Lab)

Mick Griffin (NF)

Ian Holloway (Con)

Ela Vine (LibDem)

Lynn Worrall (Lab)

West Thurrock and South Stifford (Lab)

Letrois Bernard (Con)

Gareth Davies (Ind)

Oliver Gerrish (Lab)

Matthew Parker (LibDem)

Peter Smith (UKIP)

Key: BNP, British National Party; Con, Conservative Party; Ind, Independent; Lab, Labour Party; LibDem, Liberal Democratic Party; NF, National Front; UKIP, UK Independence Party.

In all there will be 76 people standing for election in 17 wards.

Seats up:

Labour, 7 (one elected as Con)

Conservative, 8

Independent, 1

Vacant, 1 (elected as Con and changed to Concerned Con)

No elections in Little Thurrock Rectory, Stifford Clays and Tilbury Riverside and Thurrock Park