Barking and Dagenham candidates 2022: Who is standing in local council election - and what are the key issues?

Barking and Dagenham residents will go to the polls on May 5 to elect the 51 councillors who will represent them for the next four years.
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The candidates for the borough of Barking and Dagenham have been revealed as local elections in London edge closer.

Barking and Dagenham residents will go to the polls on May 5 to elect the 51 councillors who will represent them for the next four years.

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The east London borough has long been a Labour Party stronghold - which Labour has controlled since the borough’s formation in 1965.

Fifty-one of the current councillors are Labour or Labour and Co-Operative Party councillors.

Voters in Barking and Dagenham will be electing 51 councillors on May 5 across 19 wards in the borough.

Key issues

The Conservatives will be hoping to capitalise on borough-wide anger over the council’s implementation of a controversial parking measure to gain some seats in May’s election.

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Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ) have been introduced across the borough in a bid to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution and improve road safety.

Where a CPZ is in place, parking is restricted to residents who hold a permit during set hours.

Despite campaigning on the issue during a by-election in the Thames ward last year following the resignation of Labour councillor Bill Turner, Labour retained the seat with 42.4% of the vote.

Like voters across London and the country, those in Barking and Dagenham will likely also be factoring the cost of living crisis into their decision.

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While Barking and Dagenham Council agreed a 1.99% increase to council tax bills last month, it still represents one of the smaller increases across London.

Half of London’s boroughs have agreed council tax increases of 2.99% – the maximum allowed by the government.

Barking and Dagenham went completely Labour in 2018. Credit: Wikimedia CommonsBarking and Dagenham went completely Labour in 2018. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Barking and Dagenham went completely Labour in 2018. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

History

Barking and Dagenham Council has been controlled by Labour since the borough’s formation in 1965 under the London Government Act.

The borough had been broken down into 17 different wards, each represented by three councillors.

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But following the findings of the independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England last year, it will now be represented by 19 wards.

The number of seats on the council will remain at 51, meaning six wards will have two councillors while the rest have three.

Since 2010, all 51 seats on the council have been held by Labour. The council’s current leader is Darren Rodwell, who is also an executive member of the cross-party London Councils group.

At the last local election in 2018, Labour received 74.4% of the vote share, an increase of 22.4% on its 2014 results. While the Conservatives only received 23.6% of the votes in 2018, this was an increase of 13% on the previous election.

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However, only 29.67% of eligible voters took part in the 2018 election, representing the lowest turnout the borough had seen since 2002 when the overall turnout was 22.7%.

Labour has had no opposition on Barking and Dagenham Council in over a decade. In 2006, the British National Party (BNP) became the official opposition when it gained 12 seats on the council with 17 per cent of the popular vote.

Full list of candidates in Barking and Dagenham

Abbey Ward: Annabel Allam (Green); Ada Emeka Echedom (Con); Michael Gold (Green); Manzoor Hussain (Lab); Regina Rahman (Lab)

Alibon Ward: Dorothy Akwaboah (Lab); John Dulwich (Lab); Arjun Signh Jaiya (Con)

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Barking Riverside Ward: Mohammed Omar Bhuyan (Con); Josie Channer (Lab); Cameron Geddes (Lab); Victoria Hornby (Lab); Pete Mason (TUSC); Anthony Olawale Oladimeji (Con); Mizanur Rahman (Con)

Beam Ward: Muhibul Alam Chowdhury (Lab); Mavindra Singh Jaiya (Con); Donna Lumsden (Lab); Muazzam Ali Sandhu (Lab); Mark Smith (Con); Karen Whittaker (Con)

Becontree Ward: Anthony Egbuhzor (Con); Edna Fergus (Lab); Muhammad Saleem (Lab)

Chadwell Heath Ward: Sade Bright (Lab); Martin Lynch (Con); Simon Perry (Lab); Michel Pongo (Lab)

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Eastbrook and Rush Green Ward: Princess Bright (Labour); Sue Connelly (Con); Ron Emin (Ind); Dean Hillyard (Ind); Emma Louise Lynch (Con); Tony Ramsay (Lab)

Eastbury Ward: Eunice Acheampomaa (Con); Poli Begum (Con); Costel Filipescu (Con); Mohammed Khan (Lab); Emily Rodwell (Lab); Faraaz Shaukat (Lab)

Gascoigne Ward: Alison Cormack (Lab); Ruth Mason (TUSC); Jack Shaw (Labour); Roma Tahir (Con); Dominic Twomey (Lab)

Goresbrook Ward: Irma Freeborn (Lab); Moin Ali Quadri (Lab); Sharfaraz Khan (Con); Paul Robinson (Lab); Mehreen Zahid Iqbal (Con)

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Heath Ward: Martynas Cekavicius (Con); Olawale Martins (Lab); Angelica Olawepo (Con); Ingrid Robinson (Lab)

Longbridge Ward: Zygimantas Adomavicius (Lib Dem); Farak Choudhury (Lab); Rocky Gill (Lab); Shah Rahman (Con); Lynda Rice (Lab)

Mayesbrook Ward: Nashitha Choudhury (Lab); Kashif Haroon (Lab); Florin Cornel (Con); Andy McNab (Con); Ade Oluwole (Lab)

Northbury Ward: Simon Anthony (Green); Saima Ashraf (Lab); Alex Hollis (Green); Giasuddin Miah (Lab); Darren Rodwell (Lab); Tariq Saeed (Con); Jon Wright (Green)

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Parsloes Ward: Elizabeth Kangethe (Lab); Hardial Singh Rai (Lab); Christopher Rice (Lab); Tilly Wijesuriya (Con)

Thames View Ward: Lucy Baiye-Gaman (CPA); Andrew Boff (Con); Elijah Eli (CPA); Akhter Khan (TUSC); Fatuma Nalule (Lab); Sabbir Zamee (Lab)

Valence Ward: Syed Ghani (Lab); Jane Jones (Lab); Kevin Londeno (Con); Maureen Worby (Lab)

Village Ward: Beris James (Con); Margaret (Lab); Lee Waker (Lab); Phil Waker (Lab); Vincent Williams (Con)

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Whalebone Ward: Andrew Achilleos (Lab); Subhash Nair (Con); Glenda Paddle (Lab); Mukhtar Yusuf (Lab)

Local elections 2022