Conservative members in Coventry have been voting to decide who will represent the party at the next set of local elections in May 2022. At a packed meeting, candidates were selected to contest some of the key battleground seats at next year’s elections. Conservatives will be hoping to build on this year’s gains when a third of the city’s 54 seats will be up for grabs. One of their top targets will be Sherbourne Ward where Jackie Gardiner will contest the seat for the Conservatives.
They are also hoping to make a breakthrough in Whoberley Ward with Stephen Smith selected as the Conservative Candidate. After increasing the Conservative vote in May, Myooran Srikantha will be aiming to overturn a narrow majority in Wyken Ward and Amarjit Singh Khangura will contest Binley and Willenhall Ward. In Earlsdon Ward, Zaid Rehman will represent the party.
In addition, four sitting Councillors (Cllr Roger Bailey, Cllr Jaswant Birdi, Cllr Mattie Heaven and Cllr Julia Lepoidevin) have also been re-selected. In Westwood Ward, Manjeet Rai is hoping to replace long-standing Councillor David Skinner who announced his retirement earlier this year. Conservatives are expected to select candidates for the remaining seats in the next couple of weeks.
Commenting on the announcement, the Leader of the Council’s Conservative Group, Cllr Gary Ridley, said: “I’m really sad that we’re losing Cllr David Skinner after his many years of service but he leaves behind a strong legacy and a large pair of shoes to fill! More broadly, we made real progress at this year’s elections which we’re hoping to build on next year. I’m excited by the talented and diverse people we have coming through, they’ll make excellent candidates and their enthusiasm will energise our campaign. Over the coming months we will be talking to residents about our plan for Coventry and explaining how another way is possible.”
The selection process was overseen by the Chair of Coventry Conservatives, Cllr Peter Male, who said: “I’d like to thank our members and candidates who’ve taken part in this process which has demonstrated how many talented people we have rising through our ranks. I’m confident that they’ll go on to have successful careers in politics and make a real difference for the people of Coventry.”
