Whichever way the votes go this Thursday (May 4), the five Hereford wards south of the river will see several new faces, following the decisions of sitting councillors (the exception is in bold) not to re-stand.

Belmont Rural

  • COOPER, Andy (The Conservative Party Candidate)
  • DYKES, Mark Eden (Liberal Democrats)
  • ELY, Nigel (Reform UK)
  • JONES, Alan (Independent)
  • PERCIVAL, Rachael (no affiliation given)

Despite its name, this ward includes a fair chunk of the city’s southwest.

Tracy Bowes for It’s Our County, later Independents for Herefordshire, took an impressive 80 per cent of the vote here in 2019, up from a winning margin of just 27 votes in 2015, but is not now re-standing.

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Her chosen successor for I4H is local military veteran Rachael Percival, while Alan Jones is standing for the True Independents. Mark Dykes meanwhile is the current city mayor.

Hinton & Hunderton

  • CHAPMAN, Jeremy Walter Alastair (The Conservative Party Candidate)
  • MARTIN, Amanda Suna (Independent)
  • TILLETT, Kevin (Liberal Democrats)

Kevin Tillett won with just 34 per cent of the vote on a low turnout in 2019, defeating the independent incumbent Chris Chappell.

Unaffiliated to either Independent group in the county, transport campaigner Amanda Martin came third last time in Red Hill ward, while Jeremy Chapman came fifth in Newton Farm.

Saxon Gate

  • COUGHLIN, Daniel Joseph (Reform UK)
  • JONES, John (no affiliation given)
  • NORMAN, William John (The Conservative Party Candidate)
  • OLIVER, Aubrey (Liberal Democrats)

With the decision by cabinet member Gemma Davies to stand instead in the rural Old Gore ward, her potential Independents for Herefordshire successor is John Jones, who was initially standing for the Conservatives before having a change of heart.

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Mr Jones is also standing for the same city council seat, though incumbent Aubrey Oliver is not.

Red Hill

  • POWELL, Dan (Liberal Democrats)
  • WILLIAMS, Steve (The Conservative Party Candidate)

With sitting Conservative ward councillor Paul Rone opting not to stand, his potential successor is Steve Williams.

Dan Powell, returned unopposed as the ward’s city councillor, fell just 24 votes short of Coun Rone last time, and will fancy his chances in this rare two-horse race.

Newton Farm

  • CARWARDINE, Jacqui (Liberal Democrats)
  • EMMETT, Joe (Labour Party)
  • JONES, John (The Conservative Party Candidate)

This ward was won in 2019 by Independent Bernard Hunt, who sadly died the following year, leading to a seven-way contest which Ann-Marie Probert won for the Conservatives by nearly 100 votes.

Her decision not to re-stand leaves an intriguing contest between Labour’s Joe Emmett, the party’s highest-profile figure in the city, taxi drivers’ association chairman John Jones for the Conservatives, and city ward councillor Jacqui Carwardine who previously narrowly lost to Coun Hunt.