Your guide to the elections taking place this week

Voters across the Aire and Wharfe Valleys will go to the polls this week to elect local councillors and county-wide Mayors.

Polling stations will open at 7am on Thursday (2nd May) and close at 10pm, with voters required to bring photo ID or a Voter Authority Certificate.

Depending on where you live you will be selecting a councillor to represent you on Bradford Council and/or your choice of Mayor.

If you're in Ilkley, Silsden or Keighley areas / Bradford district

Local government elections select councillors who are responsible for making decisions on running services in your local area. These include education, transport, planning, street cleansing, refuse collection, libraries and museums, street wardens, parks, leisure and social care.

Dr Lorraine O'Donnell, Returning Officer for Bradford Council, said: “Voting is your opportunity to have your say on the issues that affect your everyday life at a local level. Every vote matters and I would encourage everyone to exercise their democratic right to vote.”

Residents of Ilkley West will also select a candidate to represent them on Ilkley Town Council

Candidate list for election to Ilkley Town Council (Ilkley West ward)

• Brown, Ros - Green Party
• Sellers - Jane Isabel - Conservative Party

Candidate lists for election to Bradford Council

ILKLEY

• Baldwin, Michael Andrew – Labour Party
• Briggs, John – Liberal Democrat
• Brown, Ros – Green Party
• Hawkesworth, Anne Gillian – Independent
• Sugden, Joanne – Conservative Party

WHARFEDALE (includes Burley-in-Wharfedale and Menston)

• Felstead, Bob – Local Conservatives
• Martins, Rachel – Yorkshire Party
• Needle, Jamie Luke – Liberal Democrats
• O’Connor, Bernard James – Labour
• Turner, Chris – Green

CRAVEN (includes Silsden, Addingham, Steeton)

• Buckley, George William – Conservative Party
• Kaye, Peter John – Yorkshire Party
• Knight, Andrew Mark James – Labour Party
• Mann, Paul Michael – Liberal Democrats
• Robinson, Leo Alexander – UKIP – Protect Free Speech
• Whitaker, Neil Charles – Green Party

KEIGHLEY CENTRAL

• Abberton, Clare Alison – Conservative Party
• Allon, Nick – Liberal Democrats
• Ferguson, Peter Alan – Green Party
• Hussain, Moshin – Labour
• Shabir, Vaz – Independent

KEIGHLEY EAST

• Ahmed, Fulzar – Labour
• Allon, Pauline Heather – Liberal Democrats
• Ambler, Jenna – Conservative Party
• Hunnisett, Duncan Nigel Stuart – Green Party
• Razak, Nasser – Independent
• Vann, Alexander Richard – Social Democratic Party

KEIGHLEY WEST

• Atlas, Dominic James – Yorkshire Party
• Farley, Adrian Stuart – Green Party
• Glentworth, Julie – Conservative Party
• Hewitt, David John – Liberal Democrats
• Judson, Andrew Mark – Reform UK
• O’Keeffe, Joe – Labour Party

WORTH VALLEY

• Brown, Russell – Conservatives
• Joomun-Whitehead, Ashwaan – Labour
• Kirkham, Kay – Liberal Democrats
• Telfer, Alyson Claire – Green

Candidate list for the West Yorkshire Mayor

• Tracy Brabin - Labour and Co-operative Party
• Bob Buxton - Yorkshire Party
• Andrew Cooper - Green Party
• Arnold Craven - Conservative Party
• Stewart Golton- Liberal Democrats
• Jonathan Tilt - Independent

If you're in Skipton/North Yorkshire

For North Yorkshire this will be the first time there has been a directly-elected Mayor - the successful candidate will oversee the new York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, which launched on 1st February, to introduce benefits ranging from new and better-paid jobs and improved skills and training to more affordable housing. 

North Yorkshire Council’s chief executive, Richard Flinton, will be the combined authority’s returning officer as well as the local returning officer for North Yorkshire for the election. He said: “This will be a landmark for politics in York and North Yorkshire, as the election of the mayor will lead to benefits to hundreds of thousands of people.
 
“We are asking for anyone who is registered to vote to make sure that they take part in the chance to elect our first ever mayor for the region. People should check exactly where their polling station is, and also remember to bring an acceptable form of photo ID so that they are able to cast their vote.
 
“This election will give us an influential politician who will be able to champion York and North Yorkshire on a national stage and ensure that a raft of benefits from better jobs and training to more affordable housing can be realised for both residents and businesses alike.”

The devolution deal for York and North Yorkshire includes an investment fund totalling £540 million over a 30-year term, which provides flexibility to target money to specific schemes on a more local level. The mayor will continue work that is already under way on projects including £12.7 million to deliver 700 new homes on brownfield sites and a further £10 million to support the transition to net zero, unlocking economic opportunity, empowering business growth and creating new and better paid jobs.
 
The mayor will also take on the responsibilities of the police, fire and crime commissioner for York and North Yorkshire. The commissioner is responsible for holding the chief constable as well as the chief fire officer to account and ensuring their services are efficient and effective. The commissioner sets policing and crime priorities and oversees the police budget. The commissioner also supports community safety activities and provides victims of crime with a range of services, as well as setting priorities in the fire and rescue plan and overseeing the brigade’s budget.

Candidate list for the North Yorkshire & York Mayor

• Felicity Cunliffe-Lister – Liberal Democrats
• Keane Duncan – The Conservative Party Candidate
• Kevin Foster – The Green Party candidate
• Paul Haslam – Independent
• David Skaith – Labour and Co-operative Party
• Keith Tordoff – Independent

Postal votes

This year, there are national changes to the rules about hand delivering postal votes. Changes to the law mean that anyone hand-delivering postal votes will be required to complete a form and sign a declaration. Any postal votes which are hand-delivered without the form being completed will be rejected.

The most convenient way to return a postal vote is to post it in a Royal Mail post box using the pre-paid envelope provided.  You should allow plenty of time for your postal vote to get to the council through the post. It must be received by the Returning Officer no later than 10pm on polling day.

There is a limit as to how many postal votes can be handed in.  By law, you can only hand in your own postal vote and those of up to five others. If you are a campaigner, you can only hand in your own postal vote, and those of close relatives or people you provide regular care for.

To find your local polling station visit wheredoivote.co.uk