Candidates announced for 2024 local elections

Candidates for the 2024 local elections have been announced by Sefton Council.

One seat in each of Sefton’s 22 wards will be contested on 2 May.

Labour will defend 15 of its 48 seats, hoping to collect a vacant seat left following Trish Hardy’s resignation last month. The Liberal Democrats will defend 3 seats, and the Conservatives will defend 2 seats, all in the North of the borough.

A byelection following the death of St Oswald councillor Paula Spencer will be held in the coming months.

Candidates in bold are defending their seat

Ainsdale

Ryan Abbott – Conservative
Frank Hanley – Labour
Laurence Rankin – Green
Lynne Thompson – Liberal Democrat

Labour pulled off an excellent result at the last set of elections, taking their first seat in Ainsdale by just 16 votes, the culmination of a long-term effort to grow their vote share in the ward. That said, it will take a considerable attempt to repeat the feat and unseat popular Liberal Democrat councillor Lynne Thompson.

Birkdale

Jeff Bee – Green
Sam Harris – Conservative
Erin Harvey – Liberal Democrat
Sonya Kelly – Labour

Another ward where Labour have made considerable attempts to grow their vote share, resulting in a first ever seat for Labour here in 2021. 2022 was a strong Liberal Democrat win, while in 2022 Liberal Democrat’s Simon Shaw clung on to his seat by just 75 votes. Labour will be hopeful of defending the seat – but will likely receive the sternest test in opposing Liberal Democrat’s Erin Harvey, who will also stand for the town’s MP seat at the looming general election.

Blundellsands

Katie Burgess – Conservative
Kieran Dams – Independent
Brian Dunniny – Liberal Democrat
Diane Roscoe – Labour

A safe Conservative seat until the early 2010’s, now a Labour stronghold, comfortably taking every seat available in this ward for the last 8 local elections.

Cambridge

Gary Haran Doyle – Conservative
Stephen Hesketh – Green
Callum Naylor – Labour
Mike Sammon – Liberal Democrat

Likely to be a close battle between Liberal Democrat’s Mike Sammon and Conservative Gary Doyle. Sinclair D’Albuquerque, who won this seat for the Conservatives in 2021, before leaving the party to join the Liberal Democrats after a spell in an independent group, will not defend his seat.

Church

Dorothy Brown – Conservative
Paul Cummins – Labour (and Co-Op)
Neil Doolin – Green

Labour’s biggest competition for this seat will be the Green Party’s Neil Doolin. Labour can typically count Church as a safe seat, but the Green vote has grown considerably, taking 40% of the vote at the 2022 elections.

Derby

Iain Beckett – Conservative
Rowenna Gibson – Liberal Democrat
Maria Porter – Labour
Kate Robinson – Green
Leighton Sealeaf – Reform
Dean Young – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

Dukes

Damian Bond – Liberal Democrat
Helen Duerden – Labour
David Newman – Green
Mike Prendergast – Conservative

Fascinating battle ahead for the seat at Duke’s. A Labour victory here seems unlikely, leaving a straight fight between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. As Leader of the Sefton Conservatives, Mike Prendergast will be keen to defend his seat, but will he have one eye on his candidacy for the MP seat in West Lancashire? Also of note is the candidacy of David Newman who departed the Liberal Democrats under acrimonious circumstances. Mr Newman stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate in 2021 against the wishes of the local party, after seeking permission from a senior party representative from outside of the region after Tony Dawson (who stood that year as an independent) was expelled from the party.

Ford

Lyndsey Doolin – Independent
Paulette Lappin – Labour
Adarsh Makdani – Liberal Democrat
Michael Shaw – Conservative

Harington

Karen Cavanagh – Labour
Annie Gorski – Liberal Democrat
Dave Irving – Formby Residents Action Group
Joe Riley – Conservative
Michael Walsh – Green

Joe Riley won this seat for the Conservatives in 2021 with a majority just shy of 400. Results in the ward can be inconsistent year to year – the last 12 elections have seen 8 Conservative wins, 3 Labour wins and one victory for the Formby Residents Action Group.

Kew

Jen Corcoran – Labour
Daniel Lewis – Liberal Democrat
Owen Phillips – Conservative
Rob Wesley – Green

Conservative and Liberal Democrat vote share has dipped yearly since 2021, while the number of Labour votes has increased eightfold since 2003.

Linacre

John Campbell – Conservative
Joanne Williams – Labour
David Mellalieu – Liberal Democrats

Litherland

Colin Appleton – Conservative
Roy Connell – Liberal Democrats
Amber-Page Marilyn Moss – Green
Paula Murphy – Labour
Ian Smith – Independent

Manor

Martyn Barber – Conservative
John Gibson – Liberal Democrat
Dominic McNabb – Labour
James O’Keeffe – Independent

Meols

John Dodd – Liberal Democrat
Pauline Hesketh – Green
Steve Jowett – Labour
Bob Teesdale – Conservative

John Dodd will be confident of retaining his seat once again, but the Conservatives have put up an experienced candidate in Bob Teesdale, who was previously nominated by the party to stand for the Police & Crime Commissioner candidacy.

Molyneux

Marcus Bleasdale – Conservative
David Collins – Independent
Sam Hinde – Labour
Paul Young – Liberal Democrat

Netherton and Orrell

Simon Baron – Green
Owen Croft – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Vic Foulds – Liberal Democrats
Adam Marsden – Conservative
Tom Spring – Labour
Maria Walsh – Freedom Alliance – Stop the Corruption!

Norwood

Lesley Delves – Liberal Democrats
David McIntosh – Green
Margaret Middleton – Conservative
Dave Neary – Labour

Labour’s Carran Waterfield will not defend her seat, which will instead be defended by Dave Neary, who was previously chair of the Southport CLP.

Park

Chloe Parker – Labour
Keith Cawdron – Liberal Democrat
Roy Greason – Green
Paul McCord – Lydiate and Maghull Community Independents
Craig Titherington – Conservative

Labour may face considerable pressure from the Maghull Community Independents here, having ran Labour’s Mike Desmond incredibly close in 2023, trailing by just 116 votes.

Ravenmeols

Maria Bennett – Formby Residents Action Group
Alison Gibbon – Green
Lisa Nicolson-Smith – Liberal Democrat
Catie Page – Labour
Angelica Sadrieva – Conservative

Labour perhaps favourites, but F.R.A.G have always typically performed well, and are certainly in the conversation to take the seat.

St Oswald

Henry Bliss – Conservative
Joe Johnson – Labour
Conor O’Neill – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Rupert Shoebridge – Green

Possibly the safest Labour seat of the lot, the 2022 election here was cancelled after all of Labour’s opponents withdrew.

Sudell

Marie Blease – Independent
Paul Dunbar – Independent
James Hansen – Labour
Daniel Kirk – Conservative
Joanne McCall – Lydiate and Maghull Community Independents
James Tattersall – Liberal Democrat

Typically a safe Labour seat but, again, Maghull Community Independents can do well here.

Victoria

Paul Barber – Conservative
Samantha Cook – Independent
Hannah Gee – Liberal Democrats
Michael Roche – Labour