DARLINGTON'S Labour Group has announced its candidates vying for ward seats in the upcoming local elections.

The number of ward councillors to represent Darlington from May onwards has been cut to 50 – a reduction of three – following a review by the Independent Local Government Boundary Commission last year.

Some ward boundaries have also been altered to give better vote proportionality.

Changes include the immediate town centre ward, Central, being incorporated into Park East and a new Stephenson ward, while Lingfield has merged with Red Hall to become the Red Hall and Lingfield ward.

Among the many long-serving Labour ward councillors hoping to continue to represent their communities, the party has announced 13 new candidates and four who have moved to different wards.

At 32, North Yorkshire County Council worker Katie Kelly is one of the youngest new candidates and she hopes to represent the central Stephenson ward.

She said: “I want to make sure that Darlington is what it should be, like what it was when I was growing up; that it has the facilities and the jobs.

“Having a family of my own made me more interested in what is going on in the town.”

Tesco team leader Dawn Storr, 47, is also standing for the first time and said she would like to bring the people of North Road – the most deprived ward in the borough - back together.

“I’m very passionate about where I live and I don’t believe there is enough community spirit,” she said.

“People don’t tend to get together as a community and I think they haven’t got the confidence to take that ownership.

“I would like to be at the forefront of helping them to get that ownership and say ‘this is where we live and we are not going to let anybody run it down’.”

Council Leader Bill Dixon described the candidates as an exceptionally strong team from a broad cross section of Darlington residents.

Darlington’s Labour MP Jenny Chapman said: “It is great to see so many people taking an interest in politics and wanting to put themselves forward in local elections.

“We have always been fortunate in Darlington in the commitment of local people who are prepared to give their time to improving their communities.

“Despite all the negativity that we read about politics and politicians, we have got a new generation of potential councillors in the Labour party and I can’t wait to work with them after May 7.”

Both the local and general elections will take place on May 7.