Wolverhampton council local election preview: City set to stay red

The elections on May 3 are expected to throw up few surprises, with the city having been a Labour stronghold for all but three of the last 24 years.

The party will be hoping to continue its dominance this time around.

There will be two seats in Graiseley as a result of the death of much-loved former Labour councillor and mayor Elias Mattu.

His wife Asha Mattu will contest the seat he held for 18 years.

Two seats are also available in Oxley, where Ian Claymore is standing down.

The winning candidate in each of those wards will get the four-year term seat, while the candidate that finishes second in each ward will serve 12 months.

Labour dominant

Under the leadership of councillor Roger Lawrence, Labour currently holds 49 seats to the Conservatives 10.

UKIP holds one, although its councillor, Malcolm Gwinnett, is stepping down from his Spring Vale seat at this election having been first elected to the authority in 1990.

The 65-year-old former mayor, who came back to the council after having a heart transplant, defected to UKIP from the Lib Dems and has since retain his seat twice. He is one of a number of long-standing councillors to retire this year.

The others include Labour group finance chief Andrew Johnson, who is stepping down in Ettingshall, Blakenhall councillor Judith Rowley, Oxley councillor Julie Hodgkiss and Mr Claymore.

Four senior Tories have gone, namely Tettenhall Regis councillor Barry Findlay, Penn councillor Patricia Patten, Merry Hill’s Councillor Christine Mills and Tettenhall Wightwick councillor Andrew Wynne. Collectively the departees have around 200 years of experience.

Bushbury North Labour councillor Daniel Warren, who was the authority’s youngest ever councillor when he was elected in 2014, has also stood down.

Former council leader Neville Patten contests his old Bushbury North seat for the Tories. and Zahid Shah is back as a Tory candidate for Oxley.

St Peter’s councillor Tersaim Singh has been deselected by Labour.

Wolverhampton council - full list of candidates

*Party holding seat

Bilston East

Tom Fellows (UKIP)

Stephen Simkins (Lab)*

Gillian Timms (Cons)

Bilston North

Terry Hancox (Green)

Simon Hibell (Cons)

Phil Page (Lab)*

Blakenhall

Sera Aulakh (Cons)

Patrick Bentley (Lib Dem)

Jasbinder Dehar (Lab)*

Bushbury North

Alan Butt (Lab)*

Carole Jenkins (Lib Dem)

Neville Patten (Cons)

Michelle Webster (Green)

Bushbury Sth & Low Hill

Alan Bamber (Lib Dem)

Jennifer Brewer (Cons)

Paul Sweet (Lab)*

East Park

Steve Hall (Indep)

Keith Inston (Lab)*

Suria Photay (Cons)

Ettingshall

Adam Ansari (Cons)

Beverley Momenabadi (Lab)*

David Murray (Lib Dem)

Fallings Park

Steve Evans (Lab)*

Josh Moreton (Cons)

Peter Nixon (Lib Dem)

Graiseley (two seats)

Kathryn Ball (Lib Dem)

Amy Bertaut (Green)

Kamran Khan (Cons)

Bryan Lewis (Lib Dem)

Asha Mattu (Lab)*

Safyaan Salim (Cons)

Jacqueline Sweetman (Lab)*

Heath Town

Caroline Siarkiewcz (Lab)

Fortune Sibanda (Cons)

Merry Hill

Simon Bennett (Cons)*

Wayne O’Brien (Lab)

Nirmal Singh (Lib Dem)

Oxley (two seats)

Leyla Abbes (Liberal Democrat)

Ian Jenkins (Liberal Democrat)

Andrew McNeil (Cons)

Sue Roberts (Lab)*

Zahid Shah (Cons)

Clare Simm (Lab)

Helen Tudor (Green)

Park

David Belcher (Green)

Craig Collingswood (Lab)*

Nick Machnik-Foster (Lib Dem)

Dan Preston (Cons)

Penn

Celia Hibbert (Lab)

Peter Hollis (Lib Dem)

David MacKintosh (Cons)*

Spring Vale

Ajaz Ali (Cons)

Barbara McGarrity (Lab)

St Peter’s

Obaida Ahmed (Lab)*

Natasha Allmark (Lib Dem)

Rachel Arnold (Green)

Mahammed Sohaib (Cons)

Tettenhall Regis

Julian Donald (Lib Dem)

Sohail Khan (Cons)*

Chester Morrison (Lab)

Clive Wood (Green)

Tettenhall Wightwick

Andrea Cantrill (Green)

Yaseen Khan (Lab)

David Marsh (Lib Dem)

Jane Stevenson (Cons)*

Wednesfield North

Mary Bateman (Lab)*

Lee Harris (Green)

David Hunt (Cons)

Eddie Szwarc (UKIP)

Wednesfield South

Greg Brackenridge (Lab)*

Ranjit Dhillon (Cons)

Zak Roche (Green)