The dissolution of Parliament will take place tomorrow (Thursday), officially starting the race to form the next government. But would-be candidates in Ashfield have wasted no time to start the race even before the formal election timetable begins.
The writ calling an election will be sent to returning officers on Friday. Returning officers will then publish an official notice of election before 4.00 pm on Tuesday 4 June. Would-be candidates need to submit nomination papers by 4 pm on Friday 7 June: only then will we know who the official candidates will be.
But already, we know some of the names who intend to contest the two seats in the Ashfield district:
- In the Ashfield constituency, sitting MP Lee Anderson will fight for Reform UK, Alexander Coates will represent the Green Party, Rhea Keehn is the Labour Party candidate and Ashfield District Council leader Cllr Jason Zadrozny will stand for the Ashfield Independents.
- In the Sherwood Forest constituency, which includes Hucknall, Shiela Greatrex-White will campaign for the Green Party, Helen O’Hare is the Reform UK candidate, sitting MP Sir Mark Spencer will fight the seat for the Conservatives, Cllr Lee Waters will contest the seat for the Ashfield Independents, and Michelle Welsh will fight for the Labour Party.
The Liberal Democrats have yet to select candidates for either seat; and no announcement has been made about a Conservative candidate for Ashfield constituency.
The names listed above are all provisional, as no candidate is official until the returning officer publishes a statement of persons nominated, which will happen around 5 pm on Friday 7 June.
Responding to Rishi Sunak’s announcement last week that the General Election will be on 4 July, would-be candidates in Ashfield have issued initial statements.
In a social media video, the sitting MP for Ashfield, Lee Anderson, said: “Our country is facing unprecedented challenges. Wave after wave of boats packed with illegal immigrants are flooding our shores. Illegal immigration is at record highs. The agonising wait times in the NHS leave millions in pain. The soaring rise in crime has left many living in constant fear.
These are not issues to be swept under carpet. They demand our attention, our action. That’s why I joined Reform UK. It’s not just a political party, it’s a movement to change our political system for the better.”
The Labour candidate, Rhea Keehn, also used a social media video to publish her initial response. “Rishi Sunak has finally called a general election on 4 July”, she said. “It is our chance now to end the 14 years of chaos that this Tory government has caused in Ashfield and the entirety of the UK.
“We so desperately need change and that is why I’m standing to be your Labour MP to work with the Labour government to fix the problems that need fixing and get Britain’s future back.”
The leader of Ashfield District Council, Cllr Jason Zadrozny, is standing for the Ashfield Independents. He, too, used a social media video to launch his campaign. “We have the chance to elect an MP who will fight hard for you – not about party politics, not about how far they can climb up the ladder – about changing our area”, he said, “somebody who’s got a reputation for delivering real regeneration projects, somebody who will make our streets safer, somebody who will save our green spaces, and somebody will always put you first.”
The prospective candidates in Sherwood Forest, a newly renamed iteration of the old Sherwood constituency, which includes Hucknall, have been a little quieter.
The sitting MP Sir Mark Spencer, who is hoping to retain the seat for the Conservative Party, told Geeta Pendse on BBC One’s Politics East Midlands programme on Sunday, why Rishi Sunak was right to call the general election now.
“We’ve got to get on with it,” he said. “We all knew a general election was coming and I think he’s made the right call. He has certainly started to turn the corner. He has got inflation down, like he said he would do, now to nearly two per cent. He has managed to get the economy growing – we are growing faster than Japan, Germany, the US, Italy, France – so I think now, having turned that corner, now is the moment to go back to the people and say let’s not go back to square one, let’s stick with the plan and move forward.”
- A list of candidates standing in Ashfield and Sherwood Forest can be found here. It will be updated as names are announced up to the official confirmation of candidates at 5.00 pm on Friday 7 June.
Ashfield Neighbour News is editorially independent and politically neutral. We will bring news of the election campaign in both constituencies. Check back for updates as we approach UK General Election 2024 on 4 July, and stay with us overnight on 4/5 July as we bring you the results from both constituencies.