ELECTION 2021: Polls open in Norfolk council and police commissioner contests
Voting has begun in the local elections.
Polling stations across West Norfolk opened a few moments ago and will remain open until 10pm tonight.
Residents are choosing new County Council representatives, as well as Norfolk's next police and crime commissioner (PCC).
There are also by-elections to the town council in Downham and the parish council in Clenchwarton.
With coronavirus restrictions still in place, health officials have urged people intending to vote in person to be prepared to queue outside their polling station, wear a mask when inside and bring their own pen or pencil in order to cast their ballot safely.
The process of counting the votes will not begin until tomorrow afternoon, once papers for the individual ballots are separated out, and will continue over the weekend and into next week.
Results in all but one of the county council's 84 electoral divisions should be known on Friday. A by-election will take place in the Sewell division in Norwich next month, following the death of one of its nominated candidates, Evelyn Collishaw.
Following the county results, attention will then turn to the PCC count on Saturday.
Unlike the county council polls, which use a traditional first past the post method, the PCC election is contested under the Supplementary Vote system (SV), meaning that voters should indicate their first and second preferences on the ballot paper.
If no candidate receives more than 50 per cent of first preference votes, the top two candidates go into a run-off, where the second preferences are added to the first to decide the winner.
The parish and town council election votes will be counted on Tuesday.
The full list of candidates contesting the elections in our area is as follows:
Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner: John Crofts (Liberal Democrat), David Moreland (Independent), Giles Orpen-Smellie (Conservative), Michael Rosen (Labour), Martin Schmierer (Green Party).
Norfolk County Council:
Clenchwarton and King’s Lynn South division: Adam Giles (Labour), Liam Hind (Conservative), Alexandra Kemp (Independent).
Dersingham: Erika Coward (Liberal Democrat), Stuart Dark (Conservative), George Lankester (Labour), Jordan Stokes (Green Party).
Docking: Michelle Carter (Labour), Michael Chenery (Conservative), Chris Morley (Independent).
Downham Market: Eamonn McCusker (Labour), Josie Ratcliffe (Liberal Democrat), Jackie Westrop (Independent), Tony White (Conservative).
Fakenham: Tom FitzPatrick (Conservative), Ruth Goodall (Labour), Kris Marshall-Smith (Green Party), John Rest (Independent).
Feltwell: Neil Aldridge (Independent), Christopher Harvey (Labour), Tom Ryves (Independent), Martin Storey (Conservative).
Fincham: Alan Holmes (Independent), Brian Long (Conservative), Jo Smith (Labour).
Freebridge Lynn: Francis Bone (Labour), Nick Daubney (Conservative), Michael de Whalley (Green Party).
Gayton and Nar Valley: David Collis (Labour), Jim Moriarty (Independent), Olivia Morris (Conservative).
Gaywood North and Central: Helen Dalgliesh (Labour), Graham Middleton (Conservative), David Mills (Liberal Democrat), Jim Perkins (UKIP).
Gaywood South: Micaela Bartrum (Labour), Rob Colwell (Liberal Democrat), Thomas Smith (Conservative), Michael Stone (UKIP).
King’s Lynn North and Central: Rob Archer (Green Party), Lesley Bambridge (Conservative), Gary Bramham (Reform UK), Richard Coward (Liberal Democrat), Wilfred Lambert (Labour).
Marshland North: Matthew Hannay (Labour), Julian Kirk (Conservative), Sandra Squire (Independent).
Marshland South: Chris Dawson (Conservative), David Hodgkinson (Labour), Alastair Kent (Green Party), Colin Rose (Independent).
Necton and Launditch: Jane Keidan-Cooper (Green Party), Mark Kiddle-Morris (Conservative), Joseph Sisto (Labour), Matthew Weatherill (Liberal Democrat).
North Coast: John Crofts (Liberal Democrat), Andrew Jamieson (Conservative), John Simmons (Labour).
Swaffham: Paul Auber (Liberal Democrat), Peter Bate (Green Party), Ed Colman (Conservative), John Zielinski (Labour).
The Brecks: Fabian Eagle (Conservative), Evie-May Ellis (Liberal Democrat), Anne Rix (Green Party), Stuart Terry (Labour).
Wells: Andrew Brown (Liberal Democrat), Michael Dalby (Conservative), Stephen Green (Green Party), Xenia Horne (Labour).
Clenchwarton Parish Council: Alan Bell, Karl Tordoff.
Downham Town Council:
North ward: Simon Gomes-Dacosta, Daniel Jordan, James Leach, Justin Lewis
Old Town ward: Tony Leach, Josie Ratcliffe.
South ward: Mark Eastwood, Stephen Moyses.
