East Lancashire local elections to see 267 candidates stand

The fall out of the Gaza conflict has left Labour with more than 20 fewer councillors and unsure of how their vote will stand up, while the Conservative hopefuls are seeking poll success against the background of a deeply unpopular government.

The elections will take place in Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale boroughs.

The first four have one-third of the wards up for grabs while the latter has an 'all out' election on a new political map.

There are no polls for Lancashire County Council and only one for Ribchester Parish Council in Ribble Valley.

On the same day there will be an election for Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner where current Conservative post holder Andrew Snowden takes on his Labour predecessor Clive Grunshaw and Liberal Democrat Neil Darby.

There are also parish elections across East Lancashire including for Darwen Town Council.

In Blackburn with Darwen, 52 candidates are standing in 17 wards as Labour seeks to keep its iron grip on the authority where it currently has 31 councillors.

However, a rebellion by seven former party members over the national party leadership's stance on the war in Gaza to form the 4BwD group of Independents leaves it vulnerable in several wards with large South Asian heritage populations.

With 13 Independents on the ballot papers including former Tory Tiger Patel, who has switched wards to Little Harwood and Whitebirk, and twice-retired former Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Browne in Darwen East, the borough's Labour leader Cllr Phil Riley cannot be sure the party's vote will hold up.

In Hyndbur,n where the Conservatives run a minority administration with the support of two Green and one Independent councillor, there are 34 candidates in 12 wards.

With acting Tory council leader Peter Britcliffe and Labour group boss Munsif Dad both standing and hoping to break the 16-all deadlock, a smattering of Independents and Greens along with one candidate apiece from Reform UK and The Workers Party add spice to the mix.

In Burnley - currently run by a coalition of Burnley Independents - more Labour Gaza rebels - Liberal Democrats and Greens, there are 55 hopefuls in 15 wards.

Pendle, which at the beginning of the month saw all 10 of its Labour borough councillors quit the party, is even more of a lottery than usual and has 42 candidates - including current ex-Labour turned Independent Asjad Mahmood and another former Labour boss Mohammed Iqbal - contesting 12 wards.

Labour will be hoping to keep control of Rossendale, where there are 84 candidates in all 10 of its new wards after the electoral boundaries were redrawn for this election, reducing the number of councillors from 36 to 30 and the number of wards from 14.

The full list of candidates for each borough election is below:

BLACKBURN WITH DARWEN BOROUGH COUNCIL

Audley & Queen’s Park – Lyall Ainscow (Conservative), Aadil Chopdat (Green), Faryad Hussain (Labour), Amin Kapadia (Independent)

Bastwell & Daisyfield ¬– Ella Hardman (Con), Iftakhar Hussain (Lab), Rana Khan (Ind), Khurram Shahzad (Ind)

Billinge & Beardwood – Waqar Hussain (Ind), Reece Macauley (Con), Aadil Patel (Lab)

Blackburn Central – Terri Mahmood (Ind), Keith Murray (Con), Liyakat Patel (Lab)

Blackburn South & Lower Darwen – Denise Gee (Con), Liz Johnson (Lab)

Blackburn South East – Henry Arnold (Con), Riff Haworth (Ind), Tony Humphrys (Lab)

Darwen East – Paul Browne (Ind), Katrina Fielding (Lab), Ryan Slater (Con)

Darwen South – Steve Duncan (Con), Matt Jackson (Lab), Denise Morgan (Green)

Darwen West – Lilian Salton (Con), Brian Taylor (Lab)

Ewood – John Milburn (Green), Saraj Mohammed (Ind), Rick Moore (Con), Ashley Whalley (Lab)

Little Harwood & Whitebirk – Les Cade (Con), Ismail Esat (Ind), Tiger Patel (Ind), Naushad Surve (Lab)

Livesey with Pleasington – Mark Russell (Con), Isma Sajid (Lab)

Mill Hill & Moorgate – Julie Gunn (Lab), John Murphy (Con), Natasha Shah (Ind)

Roe Lee – Imran Ahmed (Ind), Sylvia Liddle (Lab), Helen Voegt (Con)

Shear Brow & Corporation Park – Hussain Akhtar (Lab), Muntazir Patel (Ind), Judith Pearson (Con)

Wensley Fold – Robin Field (Green), Dave Harling (Lab), Mags Marrow (Con), Iqbal Masters (Ind)

West Pennine – Simon Charlesworth (Lab), Neil Slater (Con)

HYNDBURN BOROUGH COUNCIL

Altham – Vanessa Alexander (Labour), David Heap (Conservative)

Barnfield – Clare McKenna (Lab), Foyzun Nur (Con), Joan West (Green)

Baxenden – Edward Blake (Lab), Terence Hurn (Con)

Central – Ijaz Ahmed (Lab), Allah Dad (Con), Mohammed Fazal (Green), Mohammed Irfan (Workers Party)

Church – Sohail Asghar (Green), Stewart Eaves (Lab), Sajid Mahmood (Con)

Netherton – Noordad Aziz (Lab), Mohammed Riaz (Con)

Overton – Paul Knighton (Ind), Judith McKelvey (Con), Julie Stubbins (Green), Clare Yates (Lab)

Peel – Nav Afzal (Ind), Jean Hurn (Con), Michael Miller (Green), Clare Pritchard (Lab)

Rishton – Carole Haythornthwaite (Con), Ethan Rawcliffe (Lab)

Spring Hill – Munsif Dad (Lab), Wayne Fitzharris (Green), Saeed Ullah (Con)

St Andrew’s – Peter Britcliffe (Con), Andy Gilbert (Lab)

St Oswald’s – Richard Oakley (Reform UK), Andy Tatchell (Lab), Tina Walker (Con)

BURNLEY BOROUGH COUNCIL

Bank Hall – Lubna Khan (Independent), Susan Nutter (Conservative), Hannah Till (Labour)

Briercliffe – Pete Coles (Lab), Julie Hurt (Green), Margaret Lishman (Liberal Democrats), Richard Sagar (Con)

Brunshaw – Claire Ingham (Con), Mubashar Lone (Ind), Andrew Newhouse (Green), Shaun Sproule (Lab)

Cliviger with Worsthorne – Scott Cunliffe (Green), Ivor Emo (Con), Gorgyanna Kenzington (Lib Dem), Carol Lukey (Lab)

Coalcough with Deerplay – Anna Hewitt (Green), Jacqueline Ingle (Lib Dem), Jeff Slee (Lab), Tom Watson (Con)

Daneshouse with Stoneyholme – Saeed Chaudhary (Ind), James Harrison (Lab), Ikram Rafiq (Lib Dem), Mohammed Saleh (Con)

Gannow – Lewis Bridges (Green), Gemma Haigh (Lab), Kathryn Haworth (Lib Dem), Khalil Pascall (Ind), Rhys Williams (Con)

Gawthorpe – Barbara Dole (Lab), Karen Ingham (Con)

Hapton with Park – Elaine Cotterell (Lab), Sarah Hall (Green), Alan Hosker (Con)

Lanehead – Asif Raja (Ind), Abdul Shahid (Con), Andy Waddington (Lab)

Queensgate – Aurangzeb Ali (Ind), Keith Till (Lab), Bailey Webster (Con)

Rosegrove with Lowerhouse – Chris Bridges (Green), Ashley Brown (Lab), Bea Foster (Ind), Abbey Hartley (Con)

Rosehill with Burnley Wood – Simon Bonney (Con), Fi Hornby (Green), Bill Horrocks (Lab), Russell Neal (Lib Dem)

Trinity – Dale Ferrier (Con), Martyn Hurt (Green), Tony Martin (Lab)

Whittlefield with Ightenhill – Mitchell Cryer (Ind), Duncan Reed (Green), David Roper (Ind), Liam Walsh (Lab), Don Whitaker (Con).

PENDLE BOROUGH COUNCIL

Barnoldswick – Euan Clouston (Labour), Sylvia Godfrey (Green), Carol Goulthorp (Conservative), Tom Whipp (Liberal Democrat)

Barrowford & Pendleside – Nadeem Ahmed (Con), Philip Berry (Lib Dem), Susan Nike (Lab)

Boulsworth & Foulridge – Wayne Blackburn (Lab), Sarah Cockburn-Price (Con), Robin Hargreaves (Lib Dem), Lyndsey Taylor (Green)

Bradley – Mohammed Iqbal (Ind), Hassan Mahmood (Con)

Brierfield East & Clover Hill – Naeem Ashraf (Ind), Adam Brierley (Con)

Brierfield West & Reedley – Sajjad Akbar (Ind), Mohammed Hanif (Ind), Isaac Iqbal (Lab), Pauline McCormick (Con)

Earby & Coates – David Hartley (Lib Dem), David Johns (Lab), Richard Rutherford (Con), Jane Wood (Green)

Fence & Higham – Howard Hartley (Con), Brian Newman (Lib Dem)

Marsden & Southfield – Mohammed Adnan (Ind), Elliot Gribble (Lab), Azim Khan (Ind), Craig McBeth (Ind), Neil McGowan (Ind), Marie Stone (Con)

Vivary Bridge – Andy Bell (Lib Dem), Patricia Hannah-Wood (Lab), Benjamin Harrop (Green), Richard O’Connor (Con)

Waterside & Horsfield – Craig Edwards (Lib Dem), David Penney (Green), Graham Roach (Lab), Ash Sutcliffe (Con)

Whitefield & Walverden – Mohamad Ayub (Con), Manzar Iqbal (Lab), Asjad Mahmood (Ind)

ROSSENDALE BOROUGH COUNCIL

Bacup – Helen Bauld, Daniel Brogan, Dympna Bull (all Greens), Judith Driver, Jimmy Eaton, David Hancock (all Labour), Jayde Holmes, Deborah Lord (both Conservative)

Britannia & Lee Mill – Danielle Ashworth, Michell Smith, Andrew Walmsley (all Lab), James Delargy, Joanne Jackson, Alex Vijatov (all Green), Jenny Rigby, Robert Wells (both Con)

Goodshaw & Cribden – Alyson Barnes, Greg Bleakley, Christine Gill (Lab), Maureen Anderson, Ingrid Falat, David Goodwin (Green), Tony Cope, Jonathan Foxcroft, John Greenwood (Con)

Greenfield & Eden – Anne Cheetham, Simon Holland, Christian Lee (Con), Sharon Green, Gillian Hewitt, Jacob Rorke (Green), Neil Looker, Nick Pilling (Lab)

Hareholme & Waterfoot – Chris Adams, Sara Bird, Elliot Green (Green), Tom Belli, Nick Harris, Annie McMahon (Lab), Matthew Littler, Barbara Marriott, Kenneth Slaughter (Con)

Haslingden – Hazel Armor, Katrina Brockbank, Kamran Shah (Green), Ken Booth, Toby Cheetham (Con), Ann Kenyon, Adrian Lythgoe, Marilyn Procter (Lab)

Helmshore – Samara Barnes, Ann McIntyre (Lab), Geoff Blow, Jean Duckworth, Chich Hewitt (Green), Ann Hodgkiss, Caroline Snowden, Alan Woods (Con)

Longholme – Mohammed Abdullah, Elaine Brignall, Margaret Pendlebury (Con), Terry Bird, Harold Duckworth, Rosie Jones (Green), Samantha Harrison, Liz McInnes, Matt Norton (Lab)

Whitewell & Stacksteads – Julie Adshead, Bob Bauld, John Payne (Green), Jan Brindley, John Lowe, David Watson (Con), Jackie Oakes, Marie Rolli, Gill Windwood (Lab)

Whitworth – Caitlin Chippendale (Lab), Vivienne Hall, Andrew Ovens, Paul Shellard (Green), Alan Neal, Mike Royds (Community First), Scott Smith (Con), Janet Whitehead (Independent).