Redditch voters set for biggest election in 20 years
BBCEach voter in Redditch will have three votes to cast in the district’s council elections this year.
Boundary changes have been made to wards - the individual, smaller areas into which Redditch is divided. And it means that for the first time in 20 years, every single seat on Redditch Borough Council is being contested - now three in each ward.
Voters are deciding who gets to be in charge of the issues that make a difference to their everyday lives - such as bin collections, housing and leisure. Where residents will shop - and how Redditch will look in future - are key topics.
And it's tight. As things stand, the current controlling group - Conservative; in power since 2018 - has a slim majority of two seats, leaving the outcome of the 2 May elections on a knife edge.
Tell me something I can control
Regeneration - the future of the very fabric of Redditch - is being debated by candidates.
Choices voters make now may affect the district for decades to come.
Since securing £15.6m of Town Deal funding from the government in 2021, the Conservative-controlled council has pushed forward with regeneration plans.
These include relocating Redditch library to a new town hall "hub", with the existing building demolished to make way for a new public square with café and office space.
However, the Labour group has said it will try to cancel the demolition if it secures a majority.
The group's leader, Joe Baker, has pledged to bring a street market back to the town centre.
Such issues were among several discussed at a pub debate in Tardebigge last week.
"We will strive to keep the library where it is," said Joe Baker.
"As for the money that is going to be wasted on demolishing it, we will see if it could be reapplied for other things. If we can't get that, we would hand it back."
Conservative council leader Matt Dormer replied: "The library contract has been signed... it would be an absolute travesty to have to hand money back to government."
He said the move was crucial to attempts to bring shoppers back to the town centre.
A Liberal Democrat candidate, Andy Thompson, said he was bitterly disappointed residents' views had not been taken on board enough in the matter, while the district's Green party has said the proposed demolition would be a waste of resources.
Who is standing?
A full list of candidates has been published on the council's website.
They are standing in the first “all-out” elections in Redditch in a generation, with boundary changes seeing a reduction in the number of councillors, from 29 to 27.
But while the political maths has changed, this year’s contest is likely to remain dominated by the battle between the town’s Conservative and Labour groups.
A total of 28 of the council’s 29 seats are currently either red or blue.
Aside from Labour and Conservatives, only the Liberal Democrats currently hold a seat on Redditch Borough Council, following a recent defection.
But the party is hoping to secure several gains by promising cross-party working.
The district’s Greens are also looking to make gains in target wards, with candidates similarly billing themselves as mediators between other parties.
Beside the four main parties, a single independent candidate is also standing in one ward.
How tight is it?
Prior to ward boundary changes, only a third of district council seats in Redditch were contested each election.
In May 2023, the Conservatives retained control, but saw their majority reduced. They currently have 16 councillors, a slim majority of two.
Labour saw its number of seats increase to 13, a rise from a low point of four in 2021. One Labour councillor has since switched to the Liberal Democrats.
Will I need ID to vote?
Yes you will.
To vote in person at a polling station, you either need to show one of the 22 acceptable forms of ID, or a free document known as a Voter Authority Certificate, which you can apply for before Wednesday, 24 April.
Are there other elections in Redditch on 2 May?
There will also be a vote to elect the police and crime commissioner (PCC) for the West Mercia force area, a patch covering Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, and Telford and Wrekin.
When will we know the results?
We should know the results of the elections at Redditch Borough Council by the early hours of Friday, 3 May.
The result of the West Mercia PCC election is also expected to be declared later the same day.
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