WARDS A-M: NORWICH CITY COUNCIL’S MAY ELECTIONS

by Anonymous

Read the Preview to the May Elections here.

This year, thirteen out of Norwich’s thirty-nine council seats will be up for election on May 3^rd in thirteen different wards across the city. The big four parties (Conservatives, Greens, Labour and Lib Dems) are expected to be contesting every seat, possibly alongside some independent candidates.

The four different parties will have four very different set of objectives and aims, with hopes of defences and gains mixed in with aspirations of breakthrough success for some here in Norwich. With the release of nominated persons on Monday April 9th, here’s a breakdown of Wards A – M with predicted outcomes to keep you all abreast of what’s to come in this Fine City.

Bowthorpe – LABOUR

The Labour group hold the three Bowthorpe seats and have done so since kicking out the last Conservative to hold a position in the ward in 2012. With a well-known ward team, Labour have comfortably finished first here since 2010 and without significant effort it is hard to see the Conservatives coming close this year. With historic support and very little Green and Lib Dem presence, it would be a sensible target for the Conservatives in the future, while Labour will be hoping for a comfortable hold here to show their strength. Likely Outcome: LAB Hold

BISHOP Jean Kathleen – Green Party
HEALEY Oliver Brian James – Liberal Democrats
SANDS Sue – Labour Party
WILTSHIRE Andrew Roy – The Conservative Party

Catton Grove – LABOUR

Although Labour currently hold all three of the Catton Grove seats, it is the best chance the Conservatives currently have of gaining a seat on Norwich City Council, having lost their final councillor here in 2012. Coming a comfortable second regularly, many activists I had spoken to tipped them to take the seat in the County Council elections of last year, and in the end, they came within 250 votes of doing so. A strong Labour presence towards polling day saw them off and outweighed the UKIP vote going to the Conservatives. The Labour team will be hoping for the same result in the upcoming election. Likely Outcome: LAB Hold, CONS not far behind

NEWTON Henry Charles – The Conservative Party
PARK Tony Arthur – The Green Party
STONARD Mike – Labour and Cooperative Party
TOOKE Leigh John – Liberal Democrats

Crome – LABOUR

A comfortably Labour ward since at least 2002, Crome is a solid Labour area with no consistent challenge from any other party. Despite a decent showing for the Conservatives in some years and in the County Council elections last year, it is highly unlikely that Labour will feel particularly under threat having sustained large leads over the Conservatives at City Council level. Likely Outcome: Lab Hold

FORD Judith Marianne – The Green Party
LANGENDIJK Sherman Tom – The Conservative Party
MAXWELL Marion Frances – Labour and Co-operative Party
NEAL Samuel – Liberal Democrats

Eaton – LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

The last bastion of Lib Dem support in Norwich, they hold all three seats in Eaton. They haven’t lost a single election here in the last sixteen years (and probably even further than easily available election results go), boasting of a strong activist base and ties with the local community. Perhaps benefiting from a Labour party that is really focused elsewhere, the Conservatives are a comfortable second place in this ward and are the only real challengers to the team in yellow this time round. While they’ll likely be focusing their efforts on a more promising ward, the Conservatives can expect a respectable second with Labour and the Greens trailing behind as has been the case in previous years. Likely Outcome: LDEM Hold

ENGLAND Samantha Louis – The Conservative Party
HARDIE Ben – Labour Party
SAUNDERS Jane Isobel – The Green Party
WRIGHT James – Liberal Democrats

Lakenham – LABOUR

A routinely comfortable win in recent years for Labour, having turned the ward firmly red after taking the last non-Labour seat off the Liberal Democrats back in 2012. In recent years UKIP have finished a strong second to Labour and up to 2016 could have been considered genuine challengers for a seat here. With them failing to stand this year, it looks like the UKIP vote is up for grabs. Coming in second place last time, the Conservatives will be looking to capitalise on this, while the Liberal Democrats will be hoping to take advantage of their historic support and relatively impressive third place in the County Council elections last year, and try to take over the role of the plucky outsider as UKIP had done previously. Likely Outcome: LAB Hold

CUTLER Emily Rachel – Liberal Democrats
MASTERS Eric Philip Ashwell – The Conservative Party
OFFORD Frederick Peter John – The Green Party
TREVOR Rachel Sarah – Labour Party

Mancroft – GREEN PARTY

A city-centre ward currently split between the Green party with two seats and Labour with one seat, the Greens will be hoping they can cling onto one of their Mancroft seats up for election this year. Labour, however, won the last contest at City Council level in 2016 and comfortably took the seat in the County Council election last year, making it very likely for them to be 2-1 up in Mancroft following this election. A smattering of Lib Dem and Conservative support will do little to affect the result here. Likely Outcome: LAB Gain from GRN

BOGELEIN Sandra – The Green Party
GWYNN Iain Michael Morgan – The Conservative Party
SMITH Jo – Labour Party
TUSTIN Sarah – Liberal Democrats

Mile Cross – LABOUR

A comfortable Labour ward, they hold all three seats here and have done for some time without much challenge. A high UKIP vote in recent years and decent Conservative performance in the County Council elections will have done surprisingly little to worry the Labour group here, who have remained well ahead in electoral contests. With few Green supporters here and an even lower number of Lib Dem voters, it’s unlikely we’ll see anything other than a comfortable Labour hold this year. Likely Outcome: LAB Hold

EDWARDS Richard Alan – Independent
FISHER John Frederick – The Conservative Party
HOLMES Adrian St.John – The Green party
HUNTLEY Jacob Stephen Orlando – Labour Party
THOMAS Adrian Christopher – Liberal Democrats

As with all elections, nothing will be decided of course until polls close on May 3^rd at 10pm. Stand by for more pre-election analysis…

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