A by-election has been confirmed for the vacant Liverpool Council seat in Fazakerley.
Voters in the North Liverpool ward will go to the ballot box on Thursday June 30, more than three months after former councillor Lindsay Melia vacated the seat. The former member left her position after the hotly debated budget meeting of the local authority in which she became one of a number of Labour rebels to go against the party whip.
It led to the formation of the breakaway group, Liverpool Community Independents, made up of five ex-Labour councillors and three existing independent members. Liverpool Council has now confirmed that the poll will be held at the end of next month.
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Both Labour and the newly formed independent group have confirmed they will be standing candidates. Helen Stephens has been selected as the contender for the Labour group, hoping to increase their number at the Town Hall to 61.
Laura Wharton has been nominated as the Liverpool Community Independents' representative for the vote. The Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Liberal Party are yet to confirm if they will be standing candidates in next month’s vote.
Nominations for the ballot close at 4pm on Wednesday June 1. It is the third council by-election already in 2022, with Labour retaining two seats in Warbreck and Everton during polls last month.
Following the resignation of Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne from his seat, his daughter Ellie held onto the position with 952 votes to her nearest challenger and former Labour member Kevin Robinson-Hale with 362. The party was given an almighty scare in Warbreck however, with new Cllr Sam East seeing off the challenge of the Liberal Democrats’ Karen Afford by just 36 votes after former Cllr Cheryl Didsbury stepped down.
Both new members made their Town Hall debuts at the annual general meeting of Liverpool Council earlier this week. The Fazakerley ward is currently represented by two Labour members, Cllr Frazer Lake, cabinet member for social care and health, and Cllr Paul Brant, who was installed as assistant mayor and lead for finance on Wednesday, following the energy contract fiasco that has engulfed the local authority.
Prospective candidates must return their application papers to returning officer Tony Reeves at the Cunard Building, Water Street before the June 1 deadline.
