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Council by-election · Thursday, 1 October 2026

Blackpool Borough: Claremont ward

Archive. This election has already happened. Everything below is shown as it stood at the time: the candidates, their published positions as of the campaign, and household figures under the law of 2026. Nothing here is a judgement of what happened afterwards.

7 candidates stood here, polling day 1 October 2026. The same page for each of them, in the order you will see on the ballot paper. Read them all, or start with the one you have heard of.

7candidates for one seat
3sourced positions
1with something published
1named sources

See the 7 candidatesIn a hurry? Two-minute guide →

The 7 on your paper in the order you’ll see them

  1. No. 1Liberal Democrats

    Kevan Michael Benfold

    No statement supplied.

    Nothing published that we could source yet

  2. No. 2Restore Britain

    Paula Brooksbank

    No statement supplied.

    Nothing published that we could source yet

  3. No. 3Reform UK

    Mark Butcher

    “Blackpool South is an opportunity for the constituents of Blackpool South constituency to send the strongest message to Westminster that…”

    Nothing published that we could source yet

  4. No. 4Labour Party

    Katie Helen Donnelli-Hunn

    “This summer, Claremont lost a dedicated public servant, Councillor Ivan Taylor, who served local people for over 50 years.”

    Nothing published that we could source yet

  5. No. 5Green Party

    Rob Jones

    “*Claremont Deserves Better* Too long have we have not been listened to with our concerns.”

    Published on: health and care, money, environment

  6. No. 6Independent

    Kim Sherrie Knight

    No statement supplied.

    Nothing published that we could source yet

  7. No. 7Local Conservatives

    John Jake Thomson

    No statement supplied.

    Nothing published that we could source yet

The result, Thursday, 1 October 2026
CandidatePartyVotesShare
Katie Helen Donnelli-Hunn (elected)Labour Party45841.8%
Mark ButcherReform UK41938.2%
Paula BrooksbankRestore Britain797.2%
John Jake ThomsonConservative and Unionist Party625.7%
Rob JonesGreen Party444%
Kevan Michael BenfoldLiberal Democrats181.6%
Kim Sherrie KnightIndependent161.5%

1,096 valid votes, turnout 22% of 4,991 registered electors, 3 spoilt ballots. Result data from Democracy Club (source). Past results describe the past; each election is a new contest.

Describe a household. Yours, a friend's, a neighbour's. Then each candidate's page shows what applies.

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Housing
Household income before tax, per year
Work
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Optional: a few more things some policies refer to. Leave blank and nothing is assumed.
Anyone in the household is disabled or has a long-term health condition
Anyone in the household is an unpaid carer
Anyone in the household is on a UK visa, or seeking asylum
The household receives any means-tested benefit (Universal Credit, Pension Credit, etc.)
The household owns or regularly drives a car
Anyone in the household has served in the armed forces
Bands only. Nothing is sent to us.

Explore by topic

Money · Housing · Healthcare · Education · Environment · Transport and roads · Immigration · Crime · Defence · Equality and rights

Add your household and the topics that touch it come first, with the reason.

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Changes only the order of topic sections on this page. It never changes what is shown, who is shown, or any figure.

In this ward 7 candidates from 7 parties or independent slots are standing. Parties do not stand everywhere; here is how to find out whether yours stands nearby.

This is a council seat. A councillor's win changes what the council decides: council tax, housing repairs and allocations, planning, social care, schools admissions, parking, bins, libraries. It does not change national tax, benefits or NHS policy, so this page shows only positions published for this council election, and no national party pledges are implied.

Sourced positions found for 1 of 7 candidates

Compare candidates side by side

You're voting for

Your local councillor

Councillors sit on the council that runs services where you live. They set the council's budget and council tax, and decide local planning applications. Here, for Blackpool Borough: Claremont ward.

What this office decides

  • Planning. Whether new homes, extensions and developments get permission.
  • Waste and streets. Bins, recycling, street cleaning, fly-tipping.
  • Council tax. The level you pay, within limits set nationally.
  • Social care. In county and unitary councils, care for older and disabled people.
  • Parks and libraries. Opening, funding, closing.
  • Council housing. Repairs, allocations and, in many areas, homelessness.

What it does not

  • NHS policy and waiting times. Parliament and the NHS.
  • Income tax and benefits. Parliament.
  • Immigration. Parliament.
  • Policing policy. The Home Office and your Police and Crime Commissioner or mayor.
  • Schools' curriculum. Government and, for academies, their trusts.

Candidates often campaign on things their office cannot change. That is not dishonest in itself — an MP can press a council, a councillor can lobby government — but it is worth knowing which is which. Summarised from the Local Government Association and UK Parliament descriptions of each role.

How this vote is counted: first past the post. One cross; the candidate with the most votes wins.Worked example

Every ballot with one cross is counted for that candidate. The one with the most votes wins, even without a majority. Example: A 4,000, B 3,900, C 2,100. A wins with 40% of the vote; the 60% cast for others elect nobody. There are no second preferences; a vote for a candidate who does not win has no further effect.

Everyone on one page

Showing 7 of 7 candidates. Everyone on the ballot, in ballot-paper order.

Numbered as on the ballot paper. Open a candidate to see their positions on the ten topics, with sources. Until a household is described, only positions that apply to everyone are counted.

1Kevan Michael Benfold

Liberal Democrats

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2Paula Brooksbank

Restore Britain

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3Mark Butcher

Reform UK

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4Katie Helen Donnelli-Hunn

Labour Party

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5Rob Jones

Green Party

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6Kim Sherrie Knight

Independent

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7John Jake Thomson

Conservative and Unionist Party

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Photos appear only on each candidate's own page, so every candidate looks the same in this list. How much sourced material we found per party · Why isn't my party standing here?

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Go deeper: independent sources

None of these is affiliated with a party. Where a source campaigns for a position, the label says so. Links open the original site.

Cross-cutting: polling, fact-checking, parliamentary research

Sources used on this page

  1. Statement to voters: Rob Jones — Rob Jones (candidate), via Democracy Club, undated. Retrieved 19 September 2026. 3 quotations.

Candidate lists and nominations: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0). Tax and benefit figures: PolicyEngine UK, open source.

Cite this page

Harvard style. Every figure on the page also names its original source, which is usually the better thing to cite.