Candidates set to do battle on election day

With just a week left to go until thousands of Cotswold residents take to the polls, we have listed the election candidates hoping for your vote on Thursday, May 5.

There are 28 wards on Cotswold District Council represented by a total of 44 councillors and all of which will be contested on May 5. There are 104 candidates featuring 44 Conservatives, 35 Liberal Democrats, 11 Independent's, five Labour, five UKIP and four Green Party.

Conservatives on CDC have 12 new candidates this year, whereas CDC Lib Dems have the highest number of candidates ever with 35, among them an 18-year-old and a former actor on radio soap The Archers.

CDC Conservative leader Lynden Stowe urged resident to vote for the party which would make CDC "the most efficient council in the country."

He said the Tories would freeze council tax for four years without cutting front line services and would collect plastic bottles for recycling from 2012/13.

He added: " Most important is our determination to protect the Cotswolds for future generations. We will be investing in youth activities and supporting homes for local people.

"Conservatives at CDC inherited a mess in 2003. In eight years we’ve turned the council around. We’ve got a grip on council tax bills and recycling has rocketed.

"There remains much more to be done – particularly in these difficult times of coalition cutbacks. We are the team with the experience to do it."

Current CDC Lib Dem leader Paul Hodgkinson said CDC had been mired in controversy this past year and changes were needed. He said the Liberal Democrats were the only "credible alternative."

"Our candidates reflect the residents we serve – young people, business people, pensioners and the depth of experience which an ex college principal and a diplomat will bring," he said.

He pledged to freeze car parking charges, introduce a doorstep collection of all recyclable plastics and an end to the building of new holiday homes until sufficient affordable housing is available.

"We will also make councillors share the pain by cutting some allowances in order to pay for our pledges and keep council tax low," he added.

"It is time to put people before profit."

As well as the district council elections, Cotswold voters will go to the polls to vote for their preferred candidate in town and parish council elections. There are a total of 86 town and parish councils involved and more than 600 councillors. On the same day, voters will elect whether to change the current First Past the Post voting system to the Alternative Vote.

The full list of candidates are: Ampney-Coln Ward: Sir Edward Horsfall, Conservative Frank Skinner, Liberal Democrat Avening Ward: David Bendall, UKIP Peter Burgess, Liberal Democrat Jim Pasons,Conservative Beacon Stow: Peter Ellis, Liberal Democrat David Penman, Conservative Merryl Phillips, Conservative Colin Smalley, Independent Chris Turner, Independent Blockley: Barry Dare, Conservative Sarah Keay-Bright, Liberal Democrat Bourton-on-the-Water: Sheila Jeffery, Conservative Hazel Langford, Liberal Democrat Len Wilkins, Conservative Campden Vale: Mark Annett, Conservative Sue Jepson, Conservative Lynden Stowe, Conservative Clive Thompson, Liberal Democrat Chedworth: David Broad, Conservative John Robson Independent Churn Valley; Paul Hodgkinson, Liberal Democrat Vanessa Powell, Conservative Beeches: Peter Braidwood, Conservative John Burgess, Conservative John Hughes, Liberal Democrat Nigel robbins, Liberal Democrat Chesterton: John Anderson, Conservative Jon Easterbrook, Labour Phil Kerton, Conservative Deryck Nash, Liberal Democrat Margaret Rickman, Liberal Democrat Robert Stephens, UKIP Cirencester Park: Geoffrey Adams, Conservative Tony Curry, Conservative Joe Harris, Liberal Democrat Lee Searles, Liberal Democrat Stratton/Whiteway: Richard Buckley, Conservative Patrick Coleman, Liberal Democrat Reg Eyre, Labour Robert Irving, Green Party Andy Lichnowski, Liberal Democrat Dennis Peters, Conservative Watermoor: Matt Helm, Conservative Jenny Hincks, Liberal Democrat Gary Selwyn, Liberal Democrat Steven White, Conservative Ermin: Adrian Blake, UKIP Jane Edwards, Liberal Democrat Nicholas Parsons, Conservative Fairford: Sean Davey, Liberal Democrat Anna Lewis, Liberal Democrat Xanthe Messenger, Green Party Chris Roberts, Conservative Raymond Theodoulou, Conservative Mark Wardle, Independent Fosseridge: Richard Derrington, Liberal Democrat Michele Jeffery, Conservative Grumbolds Ash: Felicity Hornby, Liberal Democrat Carolyn Nicolle, Conservative Hampton Ward: David Fowles, Conservative Martin Harwood, Liberal Democrat Alex Steel, Independent Kempsford-Lechlade: Sandra Carter, Conservative Sue Coakley, Independent Alex Palmer, Conservative Jerry Stokes, Independent Neil Voller, Green Party Moreton-in-Marsh: Nigel Bass, Liberal Democrat Robert Dutton, Conservative Rod Hooper, Independent Christopher Horne, Conservative Gus Trice-Rolph, Independent Northleach: Chris Hancock, Independent Darren McLauchlan, Liberal Democrat Mike Pezet, Conservative Rissingtons: Venetia Crosbie-Dawson, Conservative Christine Watson, Liberal Democrat Riversmeet: Merilyn Hill, Labour Carole Topple, Conservative Laura Watts, Liberal Democrat Sandywell: Roberta Crawley, Liberal Democrat Robin Hughes, Conservative Tetbury; Leslie Brown, Liberal Democrat Brian Edge, Independent Barry Gibbs, Conservative Chris Giles, Labour Diana Hicks, Conservative Stephen Hirst, Independent Keith Leaver, Conservative Shirley Mosdell, Labour Kevin Painter, Liberal Democrat Guy Parfitt, UKIP Brecon Quaddy, Green Party Stephen Radford-Hancock, Liberal Democrat Thames Head: John Birch, Conservative Jenny Knight, UKIP Mike Willis, Liberal Democrat Three Rivers: Dominic Collier, Conservative Alan Pollock, Labour Water Park: Clive Bennett, Conservative Mike Evemy, Liberal Democrat Esmond Jenkins, Liberal Democrat Juliet Layton, Liberal Democrat Peter Messenger, Conservative Adrian Snow, Conservative