Local elections: the runners and riders for Barton ward

18/04/2023

Voters will be able to vote for councillors in North Lincolnshire Council ^[1] in all-out elections for the first time in four years.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) went to Barton-upon-Humber to meet Conservative, Green and Labour Party candidates for Barton ward. In 2019, the Conservatives achieved a clean sweep of winning all three councillor positions in the ward.

In effective second place was the Green Party, followed closely by Labour. Who is standing in Barton this time and what do they feel are the priorities for the area? And does that tally with what other residents think?

On May 4, Barton ward voters will be asked to vote again for three councillors to represent them. Their choice is simple, between three Conservative, Green and Labour Party candidates each, with the ability to mix and match as they please.

Conservative Party

Standing for the Conservatives ^[3] are current Barton ward Cllrs, father and son duo Keith and Paul Vickers, and Christine Patterson.

“We’ve got a proven record of action,” said Cllr Keith Vickers, pointing to new recycling bins for the town and the £19.7m Levelling Up Fund ^[4] that will pay for the Barton relief road, among other transport projects.

New paths in the last couple of years in Baysgarth Park were also mentioned. “That’s made a massive difference to the park,” said Christine Patterson. A farmer’s daughter, she has lived in Barton since 1974 and worked in the town for 15 years too.

Local Elections 2023 – Voter ID and other things to know

The local elections on May 4, 2023, will be the first time in England that people will only be allowed to vote at polling stations if they have an accepted form of photographic ID.

The deadline to register to vote is 11.59pm on Monday, April 17. You can apply online here ^[5]. To help check if you are on the electoral register already, simply contact the electoral services team in your council area.

Contact details for the electoral services team of whichever council area you live in are available by a postcode search tool you can visit here ^[6]. The original versions (note, copies are not accepted) of the following will be accepted at polling stations as valid forms of photo ID on May 4:

UK, EEA state or Commonwealth passport
UK or EEA state issued driving licence, including provisional licence
Blue Badge
Local travel – older person’s bus pass funded by UK government, disabled person’s bus pass funded by UK government, Oyster 60+, Freedom Pass and eight other travel ID schemes spread across Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
An ID card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card)
Biometric immigration document
Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card)
National identity card issued by an EEA state
Electoral identity card issued in Northern Ireland
Anonymous Elector’s Document

The name on your ID should be the same you used to register to vote. You can also use an out-of-date accepted photo ID, so long as it looks like you. The other accepted ID is the new ‘Voter Authority Certificate’, which people without or unsure if they have a recognised form of ID have until 5pm on April 25 to apply for. This can be applied for, by clicking here ^[7].

You can also apply by post for the Voter Authority Certificate by filling out a paper application form and sending to your local council. To request an application form, or for help with your application, contact your local council’s electoral registration service. To find out more about accepted forms of photo ID, click here ^[8].

For a postal vote, make sure your application is with the local council’s elections team by 5pm on April 18. No voter ID is required for postal votes.

Proxy vote application forms, where a person nominates someone else to vote at a polling station on their behalf, must be received by your local council’s elections office by no later 5pm on 25 April 2023.

She has had three separate stints on the town council and was keen to point to her running of the speed watch group as to why she makes a good candidate. “In the summer, we go out at 5.15 in the morning to do it,” she said, adding she believed it made a difference when they were there.

Asked what the biggest issue is for Barton, Cllr Vickers answer was succinct: “traffic”. “Obviously, with an A-road going through the town that was built for horses and carts, you can’t change that until there’s an alternative road.”

Conservative candidates for Barton, Cllr Keith Vickers and Christine Patterson (Image: GrimsbyLive/Donna Clifford)

Both looked forward to the relief road, which will up the A15 with the A1077 near Wren Kitchens. “We’ve got co-operation from Wren they will tell their drivers that they have to use it,” said Cllr Vickers. The extension of Barton Station’s car park, also part of the £19.7m Levelling Up Fund package, was hoped would prompt other initiative to ease car parking.

A future one-way system in the town centre was also highlighted by Ms Patterson, and both mentioned the importance of giving people more of a say in planning. Barton is a growing town, but also a historic one.

Besides the relief road, delivering services at the lowest possible council tax rate, and more modern playground equipment in Baysgarth Park were policy priorities. As was getting more Green Flag awards for Barton’s green spaces.

Cllr Paul Vickers is standing again as a Conservative candidate in Barton ward for North Lincolnshire Council. (Image: North Lincolnshire Council)

“Our aspiration is to keep driving Barton forward but with having respect for the town itself and the historical area,” said Cllr Vickers. Ms Patterson agreed and wanted to keep the friendly nature of the town and its residents.

Green Party

The Green Party ^[9] trio is made up of Neil Jacques, Carol Thornton, and Amie Watson. Mr Jacques spoke besides the ongoing works on Barton Station’s car park, expressing frustration that the scheme will not go far enough.

The “mass improvements” to the interchange where buses stop close to the train station were not going to follow through on the full vision of the town council and civic society, Mr Jacques reported. Plans drawn up by Barton Civic Society several years ago included a brick-built waiting room and to use greater scrubland space adjacent to the car park.

“It’s a once in a lifetime chance really, to have the funding to do it.” Mr Jacques is a member of the town council and civic society and cited his time working in North Lincolnshire museum services too.

Green Party candidate for Barton, Neil Jacques. Carol Thornton and Amie Watson complete the Green Party slate. (Image: GrimsbyLive/Donna Clifford)

Carol Thornton is also a town council member and is part of Voluntary Action North Lincolnshire. Amie Watson has been a lecturer in textiles and is founder of Slow Circular Earth UK. Through this non-profit, she runs a zero waste café in St Mary’s Church.

Besides the issue of public transport and the interchange – he also mentioned a desire for regular all-year round Sunday trains – Mr Jacques highlighted housing too. “The way housing is built at the moment is not the best way it can be done.” He favoured less packed together housing and more environmentally friendly elements installed too, such as swift boxes.

He said the climate and ecological emergency and ways to mitigate it locally would be their priorities if elected. Policies that were part of that included getting a measure of air quality in Barton and then working on how to improve it, more wildflower verges, and a weight limit on the A1077 as it goes through the town.

“From the canvassing we’ve been doing, people are telling us it’s time for a change,” he said, arguing the Greens were best placed to make that change.

Labour Party

Dina Tchernych, and husband and wife Neil and Susan Turner are the Labour Party ^[10] candidates. Ms Tchernych has lived in Barton for two years and grew up in Grimsby.

Labour candidate for Barton, Dina Tchernych. Neil and Sue Turner are the other Labour candidates. (Image: GrimsbyLive/Donna Clifford)

She hopes to study nursing in Hull in the future, but already has a politics degree from Hull University and international relations in Amsterdam. A lack of Labour and women councillors prompted her to stand. Neil and Susan Turner are a duo who have long been involved in local politics as well.

Crime was an issue coming up on the doorstep, she said. This included burglary attempts caught on doorbell cameras in the western part of Barton near Lidl.

Wren Kitchen lorries through the town was another issue. When told of the Conservative candidates’ indication this will end when the relief road is complete, Ms Tchernych said “I feel they could have dealt with this issue beforehand”, adding “actions speak louder than words”.

Overall, she argued town issues had been neglected by the Conservative councillors. Policy priorities if elected included addressing Barton’s potholes, including Butts Road.

Want to sign up to the Scunthorpe newsletter, but can’t access the link below? Click here.^[11]

“Sometimes, it feels like I’m driving through a war zone, I’m avoiding so many potholes.” She also wanted to invest in children and younger people. While there were church playgroups, there could be more on offer for younger people, Ms Tchernych argued.

References

^{^} North Lincolnshire Council (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
^{^} Local Elections May 4 – full list of candidates for North Lincolnshire Council (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
^{^} Conservatives (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
^{^} £19.7m Levelling Up Fund (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
^{^} here (www.gov.uk)
^{^} here (www.electoralcommission.org.uk)
^{^} clicking here (www.gov.uk)
^{^} click here (www.electoralcommission.org.uk)
^{^} Green Party (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
^{^} Labour Party (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
^{^} Click here (data.reachplc.com)