Wyre Forest District Council elections: Full list of candidates standing in this year's poll

All 33 seats on the district council are up for election on May 4 and will be contested by 99 candidates. Meanwhile there will also be parish council elections, as well as polls for wards on Bewdley Town Council and Stourport-on-Severn Town Council.

This year's district council elections mark the first since the Independent Health Concern (IHC) party departed the political scene after playing a key role in Wyre Forest politics for more than two decades.

The party was founded in 2000 and grew out of the campaign to restore the casualty unit at Kidderminster Hospital. Life president Dr Richard Taylor, who held the Wyre Forest parliamentary seat for the party for nine years, said IHC had "retired from the fray with heads held high".

The decision is aimed at unifying the independent vote, said a statement from the party, which has now formed part of a larger independent group.

The council is currently run by the 'Progressive Alliance', which took over the authority after the 2019 elections following four years of Conservative rule.

It features IHC councillors, other independents, a Green Party councillor and two from Labour, who rejoined the group in December 2021.

The Tories remain the biggest single group, with 14 councillors.

Among those to defend their seats will be council leader Helen Dyke, a district councillor for more than a quarter of a century, who is bidding for re-election in Aggborough and Spennells.

Conservative group leader Marcus Hart, who led the council for five years until 2019, will contest the Wyre Forest Rural seat.

For the first time at these elections voters will need to show photo ID at polling stations under new Electoral Commission rules.

Current state of play: No overall control – Cons 14; Independent Health Concern 8; Indep 5; Lab 2; Green 1.

Seats up for grabs: 33

*denotes party that won in 2019, when these seats were last contested.

Aggborough and Spennells (3)

Rachel Akathiotis (Lib Dem)

John Aston (Indep)*

Owen Cave (Cons)

Helen Dyke (Indep)*

Peter Dyke (Indep)*

Thomas Jordan (Cons)

George Price (Lab)

Simon Sherrey (Cons)

Areley Kings and Riverside (3)

Nick Bartram-Savage (Lab)

Jason Foster (Indep)*

Ken Henderson (Cons)*

Rob Lloyd (Indep)

Danny Russell (Cons)

Ingrid Schmeising-Barnes (Lib Dem)

Alan Sutton (Cons)

John Thomas (Indep)*

Carol Warren (Lab)

Valerie Wood (Green)

Bewdley & Rock (3)

Janice Bell (Green)

Emily Bourne (Cons)

Anna Coleman (Indep)*

Roger Coleman (Indep)*

Calne Edginton-White (Indep)*

Nigel Geary (Green)

Cloud Gollop (Lib Dem)

Nigel Knowles (Lab)

Dan Morehead (Cons)

Rod Stanczyszyn (Lab)

Nick Wilson (Cons)

Blakebrook and Habberley South (3)

Adrian Beavis (Lib Dem)

Vicky Caulfield (Green)*

John Davis (Green)

Simon Ford (Lib Dem)

Tracey Onslow (Cons)*

Juliet Smith (Cons)

Edward Stokes (Cons)

Leigh Whitehouse (Lab)*

Clive Wood (Green)

Heidi Worth (Lib Dem)

Broadwaters (3)

Mary McDonnell (Lab)*

Tony Muir (Cons)

Craig Pedley (Cons)

Mary Rayner (Indep)*

Alan Totty (Lib Dem)

Howard Williams (Cons)

Peter Young (Indep)*

Foley Park and Hoobrook (3)

Nick Atkinson (Green)

Clare Cassidy (Lib Dem)

Nathan Desmond (Cons)*

Dave Finch (Green)

Kevin Gale (Cons)*

Nicky Gale (Cons)*

Doug Hine (Green)

Sue Meekings (Indep)

Di Smith (Lab)

Franche and Habberley North (3)

Lisa Allsopp (Green)

John Beckingham (Lab)

Ben Brookes (Cons)

George Connolly (Cons)

Jackie Madden (Lib Dem)

David Ross (Cons)

Oliver Walker (Lib Dem)

Mark Watkins (Indep)

*all three seats went to Indep candidates in 2019.

Lickhill (1)

David Little (Cons)

Tim Schmeising-Barnes (Lib Dem)

Dixon Sheppard (Indep)*

Stephen Thorneycroft (Lab)

Mitton (3)

Michael Allarton (Green)

Berenice Dawes (Cons)*

Jackie Griffiths (Lab)

Nicky Martin (Indep)*

Dale Morris (Cons)

Chris Pratt (Lib Dem)

Chris Rogers (Cons)*

Offmore and Comberton (3)

Rose Bishop (Cons)

Liam Carroll (Lab)

Brett Caulfield (Green)

Nigel Grace (Lib Dem)*

Bill Hopkins (Cons)

Shazu Miah (Lib Dem)*

Fran Oborski (Lib Dem)*

Martin Stooke (Cons)

Ollie Swain (Indep)

Wribbenhall and Arley (2)

Corinne Bailey (Green)

John Byng (Cons)*

Nicole Harper (Lab)

Paul Harrison (Cons)*

Chris Harvey (Lib Dem)

Rob Ireland (Green)

Pauline Watkins (Indep)

Wyre Forest Rural (3)

Dean Cox (Lab)

Gilda Davis (Green)

Robin Drew (Cons)*

Marcin Gorecki (Lib Dem)

Ian Hardiman (Cons)*

Marcus Hart (Cons)*

David Jones (Lab)

Kate Spohrer (Green)

Dean Warren (Green)