THE candidates for next month’s Cheshire East Council elections have been confirmed.

Voters will head to the polls on Thursday, May 2, to decide who they want to represent them on the borough council for the next four years.

The Conservative group has had a vice-like grip on the local authority since its creation a decade ago, and the party is fielding candidates in every ward with the aim of continuing its growth agenda.

But Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party are all hoping they can pick up seats, with CEC having been rocked by a string of scandals in recent years.

And the independent group – which is currently the third largest group on the council – could also make gains in May, with Residents of Wilmslow in particular hoping for more success.

Candidates for Cheshire East Council’s May 2019 election in Knutsford, Wilmslow and the surrounding areas

Alderley Edge – one councillor to be elected

Keith Andrew Boxer, Green Party

Paul Nicholas Brearley, Conservative

Craig Julian Browne, Alderley Edge First (current member)

Chelford – one councillor to be elected

Marc Nigel Asquith, Conservative

Heulwen Ann Barlow, Liberal Democrats

Laurence Michael Hobday, independent

(Cllr George Walton, Conservative, is standing down)

Dane Valley – two councillors to be elected

Michelle Boath, Liberal Democrats

Pete Dale, Labour

Willow Dale, Labour

Les Gilbert, Conservative (current member)

Robert Michael St John Green, Green Party

Andrew Michael James Kolker, Conservative (current member)

Richard James Wilson, Liberal Democrats

Handforth – two councillors to be elected

Susan Ann Elizabeth Bidwell, Handforth Ratepayers

Barry Edward Burkhill, Handforth Ratepayers (current member)

Chris Fortune, Liberal Democrats

David Lonsdale, Conservative

Julie Anne Smith, independent

(Cllr Dennis Mahon, Handforth Ratepayers, is standing down)

High Legh – one councillor to be elected

Nigel Robert Hennerley, Green Party

Kate Parkinson, Conservative

(Cllr Olivia Hunter, Conservative, is standing down)

Knutsford – three councillors to be elected

Charlie Abbott Booth, Green Party

Quentin Abel, independent

Peter David Coan, Conservative

Tony Dean, Conservative (current member)

Stewart Anthony Gardiner, Conservative (current member)

Joe Godden, Labour

Helen Ghislane Rogers, independent

Christopher Avery Wetherell, Liberal Democrats

(Cllr Hayley Wells-Bradshaw, Conservative, is standing down)

Mobberley – one councillor to be elected

Charlotte Frances Leach, Conservative (unopposed)

(Cllr Jamie Macrae, Conservative, is standing down)

Wilmslow Dean Row – one councillor to be elected

Toni Fox, Residents of Wilmslow (current member)

Frank McCarthy, Conservative

Wilmslow East – one councillor to be elected

Barry Estill, Conservative

David Jefferay, Residents of Wilmslow

(Cllr Rod Menlove, Conservative, is standing down)

Wilmslow Lacey Green – one councillor to be elected

Damian Peter Carr, Liberal Democrats

Ribia Nisa, Labour

Don Stockton, Conservative (current member)

Wilmslow West and Chorley – two councillors to be elected

Gary Philip Barton, Conservative (current member)

Ellie Brooks, Conservative (current member)

Mark Goldsmith, Residents of Wilmslow

Birgitta Hoffmann, Liberal Democrats

Iain Macfarlane, Residents of Wilmslow

Oliver Jeremy Romain, Liberal Democrats