Polling stations open tomorrow (January 11) for by-elections of a new district councillor for the Thanet villages and a county councillor for Birchington and Rural.
The vacancies are due to the death of Conservative councillor Ken Gregory last October. The vacancy is one seat at district and one seat at county level.
Candidates include Reece Pugh, a House of Commons researcher. He contested the last by-election in Margate Central ward last August; that was a win for Labour’s Ian Venables. However Pugh is on his home turf this time.
The Independent candidate is St Nicholas-at-Wade and Sarre parish councillor Sonya Smyth.
Green Party candidate Natasha Ransom stood for the seat in 2015, Labour’s Pauline Farrance is a Specific Learning Difficulties Team Manager:at Canterbury University and the Lib Dems’ Angie Curwen has previously served on the leadership team of the Independent Thanet Tourism Association (ITTA), working with Visit Thanet and Visit Kent .
Conservative candidate Liz Hurst is a Birchington parish councillor who runs a pet shop.
Zita Wiltshire, a former Thanet councillor, served from 2003 to 2015, originally as a Conservative councillor for St Peters ward in Broadstairs. She lost re-election in 2015 as a UKIP candidate.
District candidates are:
Lib Dem Angie Curwen
Labour Pauline Farrance
Conservative Reece Pugh
Green Natasha Ransom
Independent Sonya Smyth
No UKIP candidate
County candidates are:
Lib Dem Angie Curwen
Labour Pauline Farrance
Conservative Liz Hurst
Green Natasha Ransom
UKIP Zita Wiltshire
Polls open at 7am and close at 10pm.
