Five announced to contest Maesydre by-election

Five people have been formally nominated as candidates for the Maesydre ward by-election taking place on the 18th of March.

The deadline for nominations was 4pm today, and the final candidate list has now been published, copied below order they appear on the formal statement of nominations from the Returning Officer Ian Bancroft:

• Catherine Brown, of Ffordd Meirionydd, for the Welsh Conservative Party
• Peter Roger Davies, of Turnberry Avenue, for the Welsh Liberal Democrats Update Mon 22nd: The nomination form has update to change Peter to Roger. 
• Becca Martin, of Woodland Grove, for Plaid Cymru
• Clive Graham Ray, of Augusta Drive, (no description) Update Mon 22nd: The nomination form has update to say Mr Ray is “Independent”
• Tom Stanford, of Acton Gardens, for Welsh Labour

As it is a contested position, the election will be held on Thursday 18th of March. The previous election in 2017 saw 565 people taking part in the poll out of 1500 possible voters.

You can make sure you are registered to vote via gov.uk/register-to-vote, and you can also apply for a postal vote via this form / process – and Wrexham Council have told us they are accepting scanned copies.

Some third parties may suggest using their forms to register to vote, or register for postal votes, but check carefully what you are opting into via that process – with Wrexham Council saying “Applications for postal votes should only be returned to Electoral Services, The Guildhall, Wrexham, LL11 1AY. They should not be returned to any other address.”

The Maesydre ward.

Due to the pandemic there is effectively a ban on distributing leaflets door-to-door as it is deemed not a reasonable excuse to leave home. The current guidance states: “In the current circumstances, distributing election leaflets door-to-door is not a reasonable excuse to leave home. Leaflets can of course be distributed safely by post, as mail delivery services continue to operate during the pandemic. Political parties, candidates and campaigners are encouraged to consider the full range of means, including social media, available to them to provide information to the electorate about the election.”

Similarly door to door visits are also against lockdown guidance, “In the current circumstances, campaigning door-to-door is not a reasonable excuse to leave home. Political parties, candidates and campaigners are encouraged to consider the full range of means, including social media, available to them to provide information to the electorate about the election.”