Ashington parish council elections are taken seriously

Posted by The Journal on May 11, 09 10:58 AM in Councils

Voters will have almost 200 candidates to choose from when they go to the polls next month to elect the first-ever parish councillors for Northumberland's most heavily-populated area.

Elections will be held on June 4 to choose the 95 members of the eight new parish authorities which have been created in Blyth Valley and Wansbeck as part of the recent switch to unitary local government.

There are a total of 192 candidates contesting the seats on the new parish councils for Ashington (21 members), Blyth (16), Cramlington (12) Newbiggin (eight), Seaton Valley (nine), East Bedlington (11), North Bedlington (nine) and West Bedlington (nine).

They include scores of former Blyth Valley and Wansbeck district councillors who either stood down, failed to be selected or were unsuccessful in the elections held a year ago for the county's new super council.

Among them are former Blyth Valley and Wansbeck Council leaders, Dave Stephens and John McCormack, as well as ex-Blyth Valley mayors Cilla Isles and Gordon Knox.

The candidates include more than 20 south-east Northumberland members of the unitary county council, who are bidding to become parish councillors as well as their roles at County Hall.

Among these are executive members Lesley Rickerby and Alan Thompson, former chairman Ian Tompkins and Labour group leader Grant Davey.

The others are Susan Davey, Deirdre Campbell, Barrie Crowther, Wayne Daley, Tom Brechany, Anita Romer, Bobby Nixon, Jimmy Sawyer, Marcia Bircham, Jimmy Lang, Arthur Pegg, George Todd, Thomas Wilson, Julie Rowe, Gordon Webb, Maureen Brown and Alan Armstrong.

It means the new grass-roots councils will not be short on local government experience when they meet for the first time in the weeks following the elections.

All 95 seats on the eight councils are being contested, with the Lib Dems and Labour fielding strong teams of candidates across the board and the Conservatives making their presence felt in Blyth Valley.

The new parishes have been created to tackle the so-called 'democratic deficit' caused by the abolition of Blyth Valley and Wansbeck councils and the loss of scores of district and borough councillors in the area.

Yesterday Jeff Reid, leader of Northumberland County Council, said: "I am very pleased that the political parties are taking these elections seriously and giving people the chance to vote for their parish councillors. The number of candidates standing shows their commitment to their local communities.

"We decided a long time ago that we needed town and parish councils as the foundation in terms of local democracy. They will have an input into the strategic direction of the council."

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