Local election day: your vote can make a real difference

Local Election Day

Local election day is Thursday 5 May and 84 candidates battle it out for 20 council seats and you have the opportunity to decide who will represent you as a councillor on Rochdale Borough Council. 

• Conservative 20
• Labour 20 
• UKIP 15 
• Liberal Democrat 14 
• Green 12 
• Independent 2 
• Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts 1

Council leader Richard Farnell is seeking to defend the Balderstone and Kirkholt seat he won in 2012, his opposition includes former Lib Dem councillor, Liz Thirsk.

A further 11 current Labour councillors are seeking to remain on the council, in all but one case in their current wards. Allen Brett, currently a councillor in Milnrow and Newhey, is this time contesting the Milkstone and Deeplish ward, with Duncan Hannant seeking to retain Milnrow and Newhey for Labour.

Leader of the local Conservatives, Ashley Dearnley is seeking to retain the Wardle and West Littleborough seat he has held for the past 34 years. Another long serving councillor with over 30 years on the council, Jim Gartside, is seeking to be elected again in Norden. Councillor Gartside's wife Jane is standing down after 33 years and her Bamford seat is being contested by Jane Howard for the Conservatives.

UKIP contests 15 of the 20 seats available. Amongst the UKIP candidates is UKIP Rochdale/Heywood & Middleton branch chairman Lee Seville, who is standing in West Heywood, and vice chairman David Winder, who contests North Middleton.

The Lib Dems have rolled out a number of former councillors as candidates, including former Mayor of Rochdale Keith Swift, as they seek to rebuild following their almost complete wipe out at local level over the past few years. Former leader of the council Irene Davidson is looking to take back the seat in Milnrow and Newhey that she lost in 2012.

The Green party contests 12 seats, with two of the 'Rochdale Seven', who were expelled from the Labour party in 2009, standing - Mark Hollinrake contests Kingsway and Mick Coats contests Spotland and Falinge.

One of the two independents standing is Carl Faulkner, in Spotland and Falinge. Mr Faulkner has contested the seat a number of times and once again seeks to become the first independent in Rochdale to be elected.

David Fenwick-Finn stands as the sole Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts candidate - seeking election in Central Rochdale ward.

The local council is responsible for a surprising number of services that you use and rely on every day, from housing to street lighting, education to pub licensing, parking to care for the elderly. That's why your vote can make a real difference.

To view why candidates want you to vote for them visit the Rochdale Online election special pages at:

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/elections/candidates/26

Votes are being counted tomorrow night at Heywood Sports Village commencing at 10.00pm.

Rochdale Online will have a team of reporters and photograrhers at the count keeping you in touch with ongoing developments, bringing you interviews with candidates and of course publishing ward-by-ward results.