Keppel Ward by-election candidates confirmed ahead of next month’s vote

Coun Foster, who was elected in a by-election in January 2023 and re-elected in May 2024, stepped down from Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in May, citing new professional commitments.

Keppel Ward is represented by three councillors, and the newly elected member will join Labour councillor Gillian Garnett and Councillor Simon Currie, an Independent.

The list of candidates vying to replace Coun Foster includes several familiar faces.

Labour’s Kieran Bold will be looking to hold the seat for the party after a strong performance in last year’s local elections, when all three Labour candidates topped the poll in Keppel Ward.

Independent Neil Collett is returning to the ballot after finishing fourth in the May 2024 local election. Also returning is Liberal Democrat Khoulod Ghanem, who came ninth, while Peter Key, representing the Yorkshire Party, is also re-standing after finishing seventh.

Also standing is Lewis Mills, a former Conservative councillor first elected in 2021. He narrowly lost his seat in Bramley and Ravenfield in May 2024, finishing just 31 votes behind the winning Labour candidate.

Green Party candidate Tony Mabbott stood as a parliamentary candidate in the 2024 General Election, where he contested the Rotherham seat and secured 2,632 votes, placing fourth with a 7.1 per cent vote share – a significant gain for the Greens in the area.

Tony Harrison of Reform UK also brings recent national election experience, having stood in the Rother Valley constituency in the same general election. He received 7,679 votes, placing third behind Labour and the Conservatives.

The by-election will be held on Thursday 10 July, with polling stations open from 7am to 10pm. Voters must bring valid photo ID to vote in person, in line with national changes to election rules.

Full list of candidates:

• Kieran Bold (Labour Party)

• Neil Mark Collett (Independent)

• Khoulod Ghanem (Liberal Democrats)

• Tony Harrison (Reform UK)

• Peter Key (Yorkshire Party)

• Tony Mabbott (Green Party)

• Lewis Mills (Local Conservatives)