Seven candidates will do battle for Rotherham's Keppel ward

The election will take place on July 10 and is necessary because of the resignation of Carole Foster, who represented Labour before standing down.

The window for nominations closed last Friday and there are now seven candidates vying for residents’ support.

They are Kieran Bold, who was selected to stand for the Labour party.

He works for Rother Valley MP Jake Richards.

His election pitch has seen him clash with existing independent Councillor Sid Currie, who has claimed some of the local touchstones for action identified by Mr Bold have already been progressed by sitting councillors and will happen, regardless of the outcome of the election.

Neil Collett is an independent candidate, best known in the area for his voluntary work, including the launch of a successful litter-picking group.

He lives within the ward and is campaigning under the slogan that he was present when there was no election.

The S61 Litter Pickers group has gained hundreds of supporters since it was formed during the Covid 19 pandemic.

The Liberal Democrats candidate is Khoulod Ghanem, who contested the seat for Keppel when Ms Foster won the seat in January 2023, with Tony Harrison, from Dinnington, representing Reform UK.

It is understood that Mr Harrison has stood in various previous elections.

Peter Key is representing the Yorkshire Party, as he did in the January 2023 election.

Tony Mabbott is standing for the Green Party. A Kimberworth resident, is an advisor to adults and families on low incomes. He was the Green Party candidate for Rotherham in last year’s general election, recording three times the Green Party’s best previous result, though it was not enough to see him elected.

Lewis Mills represents the Conservative and Unionist Party. He is a former councillor and has stated he knows “what it takes to represent a community effectively”.

He has said he would fight to secure local funding for Kimberworth, Thorpe Hesley and Scholes, at the expense of “costly vanity projects in the town centre and unwanted cycle lanes”.