Gosport announces council election candidates
By Connor Steel
GOSPORT BOROUGH COUNCIL has announced the candidates for the local elections due to be held on May 5, with the town seeing its first year under changed ward boundaries after a review concluded last year.
It means that voters will be asked to vote for 28 councillors across in 14 wards across the borough next month, with every seat up for election this time around. This is six fewer councillors and three less wards than previous votes after the report by the Local Government Boundary Commission.
Every ward except Lee East and Lee West has had it boundaries changed in comparison to 2021, which left Gosport under Conservative control with nineteen seats from 34. The Liberal Democrats have 14 and Labour has a single representative in the current structure including last year’s results.
The boundary changes mean that voters will have two votes to cast at the polling station in May, one for each of the seats in their ward. This marks a change from previous ballots when usually only one of the candidates could be selected by an individual.
And earlier this week a list of candidates was confirmed by the council as they published the ‘statement of persons nominated’ online; a document that the Globe’s designer has re-compiled in the below file to make it more readable and assessable for readers.
Voters have been receiving their poll cards since March 23 in the post, with anybody not registered to vote invited to apply via this link. This must be done before the official deadline of April 14 (this coming Thursday), with everybody over 18 years old on May 5 able to vote.
Poll cards will tell residents what polling station to attend between 7am and 10am on election day, with everybody asked to check for any changes in comparison to last year. Instead of visiting a polling station, residents can vote by post, or nominate somebody to vote on their behalf (called a proxy).
The council must receive applications for postal votes by 5pm on April 19 and proxy votes by 5pm on April 26 (both Tuesdays). More information on how to apply for both voting methods can be found on the poll cards or by visiting the Gosport Borough Council website.
Readers can assess the official list of candidates, as compiled by our graphic designer and assistant editor, by clicking this link. Alternatively they can see a detailed list released by the council here.
May 5 will furthermore see elections for 146 unitary, metropolitan, district and London councils in England, 32 councils in Scotland, 22 councils across Wales and seven directly elected mayors in England. It will also coincide with Northern Ireland Assembly elections of ninety available seats.
PICTURED BY SHUTTERSTOCK: Information sign showing voters direction to the polling stations
