Preston City Council local elections 2026: the full list of 83 candidates standing in 'last ever' poll

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

Sixteen of the authority’s 48 seats are up for grabs - one in each ward.

The majority of the contests will be five-way tussles between the ruling Labour group, the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives, Reform UK and the Green Party - all of which are fielding candidates across the board. Two independents and a representative of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition are also standing.

It is due to be the final set of elections for Preston City 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 Preston 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 Preston City 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 city as originally planned.

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

These are all the candidates standing in each of Preston City Council’s 16 wards (an asterisk denotes an incumbent councillor in that ward):

Ashton

RACHEL GILL - Green Party

RONAN HODGSON* - Liberal Democrats

ANDREW DAVID MACLAREN - Labour Party

KEITH SEDGEWICK - Conservative Party

LEE SLATER - Reform UK

Brookfield

MEL CLOSE* - Labour Party

DANIEL DUCKWORTH - Conservative Party

REBECCA POTTER - Liberal Democrats

ROB WALSH - Reform UK

ROBIN STEWART WESTON - Green Party

Cadley

FLO EMMANUEL - Reform UK

DANIEL GREGG* - Liberal Democrats

JONO GRISDALE - Green Party

ISAAC OLUWASUJI OMOPARIOLA - Labour Party

LAKWINDER SINGH - Conservative Party

City Centre

TINA BALMER - Green Party

LORENZO MORE - Reform UK

ANDY PRATT - Conservative Party

MARK FRANCIS ROUTLEDGE - Labour Party

SAM ZHANG-PEAK - Liberal Democrats

Deepdale

NATHALIE CAIN - Liberal Democrats

ZAFAR COUPLAND* - Labour Party

JOHN KNIGHT - Reform UK

NIGEL ANTONY LISTER - Conservative Party

KEVIN DAVID RIGOTTI - Green Party

Fishwick and Frenchwood

STEPHEN GREGSON - Reform UK

ASH JARIWALA - Conservative Party

JOANNE JOYNER - Liberal Democrats

CHRISTOPHER SOAMES - Green Party

VALERIE WISE* - Labour and Co-operative Party

Garrison

AMBER AFZAL* - Labour Party

ARAN BAILEY - Independent

CLAIRE CRAVEN - Liberal Democrats

HELEN DISLEY - Green Party

SIMON HOLMES - Reform UK

AL-YASA KHAN - Conservative Party

Greyfriars

JOANNE AFRIN BLACK - Labour Party

ANDREW CRAIG BIELAS-BARNES - Conservative Party

JACOB BILSBORROW - Green Party

SIMON CROWE - Reform UK

FIONA DUKE* - Liberal Democrats

Ingol and Cottam

DEREK BARTON - Labour Party

NEIL DARBY* - Liberal Democrats

SARAH JANE HART - Conservative Party

DAVID PRESTON - Reform UK

TOBY WORTH - Green Party

Lea and Larches

BILL ADAMS - Labour Party

KEITH BERRY - Green Party

SEAN LITTLE* - Liberal Democrats

JAVARIS MAHARAJ - Conservative Party

JEMMA LOUISE RUSHE - Reform UK

Plungington

PAV AKHTAR* - Labour Party

SUSAN TRACEY BROWN - Reform UK

PENELOPE DAWBER - Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

FRANKIE KENNEDY - Conservative Party

GABIE LOWE - Green Party

RUTH VAN MIERLO - Liberal Democrats

Preston Rural East

KAREN KENDALL - Green Party

BETH MOORE - Labour Party

DANIEL NUTTALL - Reform UK

STEVE WHITTAM* - Conservative Party

LIAM YIP - Liberal Democrats

Preston Rural North

DANIEL BENNETT - Green Party

LYNNE BROOKS - Labour Party

STEPHEN GEOFFREY THOMPSON* - Reform UK

RENE VAN MIERLO - Liberal Democrats

FAY ELIZABETH WHITTAM - Conservative Party

Ribbleton

VASILE ALECU - Reform UK

EDWARD CRAVEN - Liberal Democrats

MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER MCGOWAN - Labour Party

TES SLATER - Conservative Party

DANIEL THOMPSON - Green Party

Sharoe Green

MAXWELL GREEN* - Conservative Party

BRIAN MARTIN OLLERTON - Reform UK

RICK SEYMOUR - Labour Party

JACK SINGH - Liberal Democrats

AMY STRETTLE - Green Party

St. Matthew’s

WAQAS AHMED - Independent

TAKHSIN AKHTAR - Labour Party

GARETH BASTERFIELD - Green Party

CHARLIE CRAIG FITZPATRICK - Reform UK

TAYO KOREDE - Conservative Party

ANITA MURRAY - Liberal Democrats

Source: Preston City Council

How do I vote at the Preston City 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 Preston 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 at the Preston City 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).

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