Desborough residents heading to the polls for by-election next month

People living in Desborough and neighbouring villages will soon be going to the polls to elect a new councillor to represent their area on North Northamptonshire Council (NNC).

The by-election comes after the death of Mike Tebbutt earlier this year, who served his local community as a councillor for more than a decade.

The vote will take place on Thursday, April 4 across a number of polling stations in the ward.

Applications for candidates looking to represent the ward have now closed and four different parties have put forward a contender for the seat.

The last local elections were held in May 2021, with the Conservatives securing all three Desborough seats.

Cllrs Mark Dearing and David Howes still represent the ward after polling 19 per cent and 17 per cent of the vote respectively.

The candidates

Conservative Party – Bill McElhinney

Bill McElhinney is currently a town councillor for the Loatland ward on Desborough Town Council. He says he has lived in the town since 2006 and has put fixing roads, attracting new investment and keeping the town and villages safe as his priorities.

He said: “As your councillor, I will continue to work tirelessly to serve our community including helping to tackle issues of anti-social behaviour that are currently prevalent in areas of the ward.

“I am passionate about Desborough and our wonderful Welland villages. Working together with our NNC councillors David Howes and Cllr Mark Dearing alongside local town and parish councillors, I believe that we can achieve many positive outcomes.

“I would be an active councillor and will continue to strive for the best opportunities for our town and villages.”

Green Party – Olivia Stevenson

Greens candidate Olivia Stevenson has lived in Rothwell and Desborough for almost 20 years. Her biggest concern is the climate crisis and she says we all need to work together to move to a better, liveable future.

She continued: “I am standing as a Green candidate in this North Northamptonshire Council by-election because I want to speak up for local people on issues that concern them. The opportunity to vote Green offers a change from the disconnected two-party political system, which has stretched our services and communities to breaking point.

“The Green Party work hard on local matters like public healthcare, safe roads, good housing, council services, public transport, and green spaces. With the success of the Green councillors in Kettering, I feel it’s important that residents have the option to vote Green.

“A vote for me will allow me the opportunity to influence council policies to benefit residents, to utilise more sustainable energy to meet our carbon targets, and develop a fairer, greener way of living for the local community and our planet.”

Labour Party – Rikki Tod

Rikki Tod is the Labour Party candidate for the by-election. He has lived in Desborough for 50 years and previously served on the town and borough councils.

He has highlighted support for children’s services- especially for those with special needs- better local services, developing employment opportunities and the cost of living crisis as his prime concerns.

He added: “My priorities for the ward are being altered as I knock on doors listening to people, and will probably change again, once I find just how bad the NNC finances are.

“I have come out of retirement to reverse the degradation of our community and its assets, stop the sell-off of public amenities and save our schools.”

Liberal Democrat – Alan James Window

Desborough Town Councillor (DTC) Alan Window will be standing in the by-election for the Lib Dems. He has lived in Desborough for the past 40 years and was also a candidate in the last 2021 local elections.

As ex-Forces and ex-Police he has held the positions of president for the Desborough Royal British Legion and the DTC Armed Forces Champion. He currently works for the NHS.

Mr Window said: “I am standing for NNC as I stood in the last election and I have further increased my experience as a DTC councillor.

“My experience chairing festivals has been further developed being the Community Grants Advisory Panel Chair, aiming for cross-party consensus in all decisions.”

How to vote

Electors intending to vote in person are urged to ensure they have one of the acceptable forms of photo ID prior to attending their polling station.

A poll will be held on Thursday April 4, between the hours of 7am and 10pm. The location of polling stations in the electoral ward are below:

• Ashley Village Hall, Main Street, Ashley
• Dingley Village Hall, Church Lane, Dingley
• Braybrooke Village Hall, Griffin Road, Braybrooke
• The Ritz Complex, 7-9 Station Road, Desborough
• Desborough Leisure Centre, Ironwood Avenue, Desborough
• St Giles Church Community Centre, Lower Street, Desborough
• Stoke Albany Village Hall, Ashley Road, Stoke Albany
• St Mary the Virgin Church, Weston by Welland, Market Harborough
• Wilbarston Village Hall, Carlton Road, Wilbarston

If you are already registered as a postal voter, you will receive a postal voting pack by post. The deadline to return your postal vote by post or by handing it into any polling station is by 10pm on Thursday, April 4 2024.

If you won’t be able to get to the polling station to vote on the day of the poll, you can ask someone you trust to vote on your behalf. You must have completed a proxy application form and submitted it to the electoral registration office by March 25.

Emergency proxy vote applications for medical or work-related emergencies or certain situations regarding voter ID can be submitted until 5pm on Thursday, April 4 2024.

Verification and counting of ballot papers will take place after the close of the poll.