THE names of people standing in the next city council election have been revealed, with three councillors stepping down. 

Winchester voters will go to the polls on Thursday, May 2 with 14 seats up for grabs. 

The Conservatives are defending six seats and the Liberal Democrats eight. After last year's election, the Liberal Democrats further increased their control of the city council by winning two seats, giving a total of 30. The Conservatives currently hold 12 seats, the Green Party two and one independent. 

The three city councillors standing down are Liberal Democrat Chris Edwards (St Michael), Conservative Michael Kurn (Bishop's Waltham) and Conservative Frank Pearson (Central Meon Valley). 

Mr Edwards said: “I'm stepping down for personal reasons. I'm delighted to have been a councillor and make a small contribution to our successes. I'm getting older, and I want to be able to visit my children more who live abroad. I'm delighted we have an excellent candidate in Rachel Aron, who I'm hoping will get elected.”

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Mr Pearson, a former mayor and council leader, is stepping down after 22 years. He previously told the Chronicle: “I'm retiring for two reasons. One is that I'm 83 now and I'm no longer able to put up with the nonsense going on. The other is that I have had a string of health issues since 2019 including my hearing, eyes and hips.”

Mr Kurn has been approached for a comment. 

A total of 11 city councillors will be trying to defend their seats. They are: Fiona Isaacs (Conservatives), Jan Warwick (Conservatives), Mike Read (Conservatives), Angela Clear (Liberal Democrats), Kelise Learney (Liberal Democrats), John Tippett-Cooper (Liberal Democrats), Jamie Scott (Liberal Democrats), Chris Westwood (Liberal Democrats), Steve Cramoysan (Liberal Democrats), Vivian Achwal (Liberal Democrats) and Stephen Godfrey (Conservatives). 

SEE ALSO: Frank Pearson to retire from Winchester City Council

Several former city councillors are attempting to be re-elected. Linda Gemmell (Conservatives) is trying to retake the seat she lost in 2022 in Central Meon Valley. Patrick Davies (Labour) and Ian Tait (Conservatives) will contest the St Luke and St. Bartholomew wards.

Two neighbours will face-off in The Worthys ward as Signe Biddle (Conservatives) and Steve Cramoysan (Liberal Democrats) both live in Mortimer Close, Kings Worthy. 

Hugh Lumby has resigned from Hampshire County Council after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. A former city councillor, he represented the Upper Meon Valley ward for three years. 

This is the full list of candidates:

  • Alresford & Itchen Valley: Fiona Isaacs (Conservatives), Clare Pinniger (Liberal Democrats), Tessa Susan Valentine (Labour), Dave Westley (Green Party).
  • Badger Farm and Oliver`s Battery: Adrian John Paul Field (Labour), Anne Forder (Liberal Democrats), Max Priesemann (Green Party), Jan Warwick (Conservatives).
  • Bishop's Waltham: Richard Cannon (Green Party), Alex Coles (Independent), Steve Haines (Labour), Henry Laferla (Conservatives), Ritchie Latham (Liberal Democrats).
  • Central Meon Valley: Eric Bodger (Liberal Democrats), Linda Gemmell (Conservatives), Oliver Stephen Hirsch (Labour), Suzanne Emma White (Green Party). 
  • Denmead: Michael Bennett (Liberal Democrats), Andrew Thomas Kirby (Labour), Mike Read (Conservatives), Elizabeth Karen Riley (Green Party). 
  • Southwick and Wickham: Angela Clear (Liberal Democrats), Beata Parry (Green Party), Denise Searle (Conservatives), Paul Thomas Sony (Labour). 
  • St. Barnabas: Antonia Cox (Conservatives), Charlotte Harley (Green Party), Kelise Learney (Liberal Democrats), Lucy Emma Sims (Labour).
  • St. Bartholomew: Patrick Davies (Labour), Lorraine Estelle (Green Party), Philip Hutchinson (Conservatives), John Tippett-Cooper (Liberal Democrats).
  • St. Luke: Alison Phyllis Cochrane (Labour), Michael James Perrott (Green Party), Jamie Scott (Liberal Democrats), Ian Tait (Conservatives).
  • St. Michael: Rachel Aron (Liberal Democrats), Leo Keay (Conservatives), Peter Ronald Marsh (Labour), Richard Needham (Green Party). 
  • St. Paul: Giles Richard Gooding (Green Party), Steve Russell (Conservatives), Stephen Richard Turner (Labour), Chris Westwood (Liberal Democrats).
  • The Worthys: Signe Biddle (Conservatives), Steve Cramoysan (Liberal Democrats), Cameron Hodgkinson (Labour), Andrew Pogson (Green Party). 
  • Whiteley and Shedfield: Vivian Achwal (Liberal Democrats), Marcus Garth (Conservatives), Kate Needham (Green Party), Rosalind Sally O`Shaughnessy (Labour), Sean Gerrard Whelan (Independent). 
  • Wonston & Micheldever: Antony Francis De Peyer (Labour), Stephen Godfrey (Conservatives), Richard Murphy (Liberal Democrats), Dee Wright (Green Party).