The only guaranteed result from the eight divisions of East Cambs in next month’s county council elections is that it will become a UKIP free zone.
The party, who fielded six candidates in 2013 with one notable success at Littleport, has abandoned the district to its fate with not a single contender in 2017.
Ironically one of the ‘class of 2013’ for UKIP, Peter Dawe, is busily engaged elsewhere this year as candidate for Cambridgeshire’s first elected mayor where he is standing as an independent.
Councillor Daniel Divine, who did make it to Shire Hall by winning Littleport, is standing this year as an independent in Chatteris.
Plenty of familiar names abound among the Conservative ranks, however, although James Palmer, currently leader of East Cambs District Council, has moved out of contention for a county council seat. He’s got bigger fish to fry after winning his party’s nomination for mayor – a position the bookies believe he’s odd on to win.
Also absent from the nominations this year is Councillor Mike Rouse who felt that should he be successful he would have turned 80 by the time of the next election – he will remain busy as a district councillor for now.
Other familiar names hoping to emulate past successes included Conservatives Bill Hunt, Joshua Schumann, Matthew Shuter and Anna Bailey.
Unlike neighbouring Fenland – where a number of independents are standing- the electorate in East Cambs see six of the eight divisions revert to three horse races, Lab, Con and Lib Dem.
Only in Soham and Burwell have fourth candidates come onto the nomination papers- Greens are standing in both.
The candidates for the East Cambridgeshire divisions are as follows (one councillor per seat).
Burwell Charlotte Cane (Lib Dem)
Josh Shumann (Con)
Liz Swift (Lab)
Flora Waterhouse (Green)
Ely North
Lis Every (Con)
Mark Hucker (Lab)
Alison Whelan (Lib Dem)
Ely South
Anna Bailey (Con)
Rebecca Denness (Lab)
Christine Whelan (Lib Dem)
Littleport
David Ambrose (Con)
Jane Frances (Lab)
Martin Seidel (Lib Dem)
Soham North and Isleham
Isobel Morris (Lab)
Ruper Moss-Eccardt (Lib Dem)
Paul Raynes (Con)
Soham South and Haddenham
Andy Cogan (Green)
Lydia Hill (Lab)
Bill Hunt (Con)
Pauline Wilson (Lib Dem)
Sutton
Michael Bradley (Con)
Lorna Dupre (Lib Dem)
Christopher Horne (lab)
Woodditton
Steven O’Dell (Lab)
Mathew Shuter (Con)
John Trapp (Lib Dem)
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