Chorley Council local elections 2026: the full list of 65 candidates standing in 'final' borough poll

The full list of politicians who will be vying for votes has been published ahead of the poll taking place on 7th May.

Fourteen of the authority’s 42 seats are up for grabs – one in each ward.

Half of the contests will be four-way battles between the ruling Labour group, the Conservatives, Reform UK and the Green Party – all of which are fielding candidates in every part of the borough.

The Liberal Democrats are contesting six wards and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition two, while an independent is also entering the fray.

It is due to be the final set of elections for Chorley Council ahead of the authority’s scheduled abolition in 2028.

As part of a government-ordered shake-up, all 15 of Lancashire’s main local authorities are to be scrapped. Councils like Chorley will be subsumed into a smaller number of yet-to-be-determined new authorities covering much larger areas.

That forthcoming overhaul raised the prospect of this year’s election for Chorley Council being cancelled ahead of a planned poll in 2027 for a ‘shadow’ version of the authority that will replace it 12 months later.

However, a government U-turn on the issue in February means voting will now go ahead in the borough as originally planned.

Who can I vote for in the Chorley Council 2026 local elections?

These are all the candidates standing in each of Chorley Council’s 14 wards (an asterisk denotes an incumbent councillor in that ward):

Adlington and Anderton

NEIL BAGLOW – Conservative Party

AMY HARDCASTLE – Green Party

JUNE MOLYNEAUX* – Labour and Co-operative Party

GRAHAM KEITH THORNTON – Reform UK

Buckshaw and Whittle

CHRISTINE TURNER – Conservative Party

RACHEL SMITH – Green Party

DEDRAH CECILIA MOSS* – Labour Party

CRAIG TOMMONY – Reform UK

Chorley East

MARK GRANDI – Conservative Party

LOUISE ELIZABETH HALL – Green Party

IAN DANIEL CARDWELL – Labour Party

MARTIN ANDREW TOPP* – Reform UK

CAROLE ANN SASAKI -Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

Chorley North and Astley

JEFFREY JOHNSTONE GREEN – Conservative Party

JON ROYLE – Green Party

ALISTAIR WILLIAM MORWOOD* – Labour Party

MARK PERKS – Reform UK

Chorley North East

WENDY PATERSON – Conservative Party

MARK WORSLEY TEBBUTT – Green Party

JEN WHIFFEN* – Labour Party

DAVID GOLDEN – Liberal Democrats

PAUL ROBERT HAZZARD – Reform UK

Chorley North West

PETER MALPAS – Conservative Party

ANNE FRANCES CALDERBANK – Green Party

EMMA LOUISE WALKER – Labour and Co-operative Party

SHAZ MALIK – Reform UK

Chorley South East and Heath Charnock

DIANA KHAN – Conservative Party

JANE ELIZABETH WESTON – Green Party

SAMIR KHAN* – Labour Party

MARK HILL – Reform UK

Chorley South West

DOROTHY LIVESEY – Conservative Party

OLGA CASH – Green Party

TERRY HOWARTH* – Labour Party

BARRY YOUNG – Reform UK

Clayton East, Brindle and Hoghton

GREG MORGAN – Conservative Party

AMY LOUISE COXLEY – Green Party

MICHELLE BEACH* – Labour Party

STEPHEN JOHN FENN – Liberal Democrats

ELLIE CLOSE – Reform UK

GEOFF FIELDEN – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

Clayton West and Cuerden

SAM CHAPMAN – Conservative Party

SIMON CASH – Green Party

NEVILLE GRANT WHITHAM* – Labour Party

ALEXANDRA KATHERINE SIMPSON – Liberal Democrats

LESLEY DUROSE – Reform UK

Coppull

HAROLD HEATON – Conservative Party

DEBBIE BROTHERTON – Green Party

STEVE HOLGATE – Labour Party

MARK ROBERT FROST – Liberal Democrats

JOE MCCARTNEY – Reform UK

Croston, Mawdesley and Euxton South

JOSH COLLINS – Green Party

CAROLINE ELIZABETH TURNER – Labour and Co-operative Party

JOHN WRIGHT – Liberal Democrats

ALAN JOHN PLATT* – Local Conservatives

MARK WADE – Reform UK

BARRIE WILLIAM DUCKWORTH – Independent

Eccleston, Heskin and Charnock Richard

SEF CHURCHILL – Green Party

ARUN SINGH* – Labour Party

ROWAN POWER – Liberal Democrats

ETHAN JAMES HOWARTH – Local Conservatives

FRED LAITHWAITE – Reform UK

Euxton

GEOFF TURNER – Conservative Party

PAULINE MARGARET SUMMERS – Green Party

GILLIAN FRANCES SHARPLES – Labour Party

JONATHAN CLOSE – Reform UK

Source: Chorley Council

How do I vote in the Chorley Council local elections?

The polls will be open on Thursday 7th May from 7am until 10pm – and voters must take an approved form of photo ID with them in order to cast their ballot in person (see full list below).

Anybody not currently on the electoral roll must ensure they register to vote – the deadline for which is 20th April.

Voting by post is also an option. Applications for a postal vote must be received by 5pm on 21st April and ballot papers must arrive at Chorley Town Hall by polling day. If it gets too late to post your vote back, you can take it to your local polling station on the day of the election, up until 10pm.

Proxy votes can be obtained if you cannot attend the polling station in person – meaning someone else can vote on your behalf. Applications for a proxy vote must be received by 28th April at 5pm.

However, you can apply for an emergency proxy vote if you discover only after that deadline that you will be unable to vote in person, including for medical or employment reasons. In such instances, you can apply for a proxy vote until 5pm on election day itself.

What do I need to vote in the Chorley Council local elections?

To vote in person at a polling station, you will need one of the following forms of photo identification (the ID is permitted to be out of date, but must still be a good likeness of you, and it must be the original, not a photocopy):

• passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country;
• photo driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or an EEA state;
• voter authority certificate (deadline to apply: 5pm, 28th April);
• a blue badge;
• older person’s bus pass;
• disabled person’s bus pass;
• Oyster 60+ Card;
• Freedom Pass;
• identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card);
• biometric immigration document, including eVisas;
• Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card) and Form 100 (HM Armed Forces Veterans Card);
• national identity card issued by an EEA state;
• anonymous elector’s document;
• digital ID – Veterans’ Card (new for 2026);
• digital ID – E-visa (new for 2026).