Will you get to vote for who becomes your new town councillor

Many Penrith voters will not get to cast a vote in the upcoming town council elections, with voters in three of the town council wards no longer needing the polling card recently delivered by the new Westmorland and Furness Council for voting in the town council elections on the 4^th of May 2023.

Westmorland and Furness Council delivered polling cards to all registered voters in the Westmorland and Furness district covering the former districts of Eden, South Lakeland and Barrow.

Following the close of nominations, it was confirmed there will be elections for the following parish/town councils ONLY:

Penrith Town Council – only three wards will be contested, Penrith North, Penrith South and Penrith West

Barrow Parish Council – all 11 wards will be contested for the new Barrow Town Council.

Asby Parish Council

Crosby Ravensworth Parish Council

Kirkby Stephen Parish Council

Matterdale Parish Council

Musgrave Parish Council

There will be no polls in all other parish and town councils in Westmorland and Furness with scheduled elections this year, as the number of candidates standing did not exceed the number of vacant seats available, and therefore the nominated candidates were returned as elected councillors unopposed.

Electors in all other areas where the scheduled elections have been confirmed as uncontested, will not need to attend polling stations on the 4^th of May, despite having received a poll card in the post. Postal voters in areas without an election will not receive a ballot pack.

Only those eligible to vote in the 11 wards for the new Barrow Parish Council, the three contested wards on Penrith Town Council and the parish councils of Asby, Crosby Ravensworth, Kirkby Stephen, Matterdale and Musgrave in the Eden area will be voting on the 4^th of May.

The candidates nominated that will be hoping to gain one of the available seats in those contested wards in the Penrith Town Council elections are:

Penrith North – 4 seats

BALDERSTONE, William Conservative Party Candidate

DONALD, Paul Labour Party

JACKSON, Scott Michael

JAYSON, Daniel Marcus Liberal Democrats

KENYON, Ronald

NORMINGTON, Dale Conservative Party Candidate

Penrith South – 2 Seats

BURGIN, Roger Liberal Democrats

CLARK, Margaret

SMITH, Danny Labour Party

Penrith West – 3 Seats

JAYSON, Barbara Liberal Democrats

KNAGGS, Dave Labour Party

SNELL, Hilary Labour Party

THOMSON, Jeff Independent

No voting will take place in the wards of Penrith East, Penrith Carleton and Penrith Pategill with the following five candidates elected automatically as the number of candidates equalled or did not exceed the number of seats.

Penrith East – 3 Seats

RUDHALL, Mark Brian Liberal Democrats

SHEPHERD, Charlie Liberal Democrats

Penrith Carleton – 2 Seats

HOLDEN, Deborah Mary Liberal Democrats

LAWSON, Douglas Ian Green Party

Penrith Pategill – 1 Seat

BOWEN, Valerie Ann Liberal Democrats

In seats that are contested including Penrith North, Penrith West and Penrith South in order to vote on the 4^th of May, voters must be on the electoral register and residents are being urged to ensure they are registered to vote.

The UK Government has also introduced a requirement for voters to show photo ID when voting at a polling station at elections. This new requirement will apply for the first time at the local elections on 4 May. Voters will need to show photo ID to be allowed to vote at polling stations.

Accepted forms of photo ID include a UK, European Economic Area (EEA) or Commonwealth passport; a UK or EEA drivers’ licence and some concessionary travel passes, such as an older person’s bus pass. Voters will be able to use expired ID if they are still recognisable from the photo.

If you don’t already have any of the accepted forms of photo ID listed, you can apply for a free voter ID document, which is known as a Voter Authority Certificate.

The deadline to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate for this May’s elections is 5pm on Tuesday, 25 April 2023.

This is the third full Penrith Town Council election since the town council was first created in 2015 with 19 seats on the council reduced in 2019 to 15 as many seats remained vacant. In this third election cycle 1 seat will remain unfilled in Penrith East due to insufficient candidates nominated.

To the South of Penrith in the parish of Sockbridge and Tirril no candidates were nominated leaving the council facing an uncertain future and unable to function until a new council can be elected.

Will you get to vote for who becomes your new town councillor?