Council by-election · Thursday, 24 September 2026

South Staffordshire: Wombourne North ward

Name: South Staffordshire: Wombourne North ward council by-election, 24 September 2026
Start: 2026-09-24T07:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-09-24T22:00:00+01:00
Location: South Staffordshire: Wombourne North 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.

5 candidates stood here, polling day 24 September 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.

5candidates for one seat

3sourced positions

1with something published

1named sources

See the 5 candidates In a hurry? Two-minute guide →

The 5 on your paper in the order you’ll see them

No. 1Liberal Democrats
Michael James Jones
No statement supplied.
Nothing published that we could source yet
No. 2The Conservative and Unionist Party
Elizabeth Beatrice Florence Keeling
No statement supplied.
Nothing published that we could source yet
No. 3Green Party candidate
Claire McIlvenna
No statement supplied.
Nothing published that we could source yet
No. 4Reform UK
Marie Shortland
No statement supplied.
Nothing published that we could source yet
No. 5Labour and Co-operative Party
Anil Singh
“Anil is proud to live in the friendly neighbourhood Lower Penn, close to the wonderful Wombourne village.”
Published on: environment, money, transport

The result, Thursday, 24 September 2026

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Elizabeth Beatrice Florence Keeling (elected)	Conservative and Unionist Party	864	50.1%
Marie Shortland	Reform UK	645	37.4%
Anil Singh	Labour and Co-operative Party	115	6.7%
Claire McIlvenna	Green Party	68	3.9%
Michael James Jones	Liberal Democrats	33	1.9%

1,725 valid votes, turnout 31.4% of 5,514 registered electors, 6 spoilt ballots. Result data from Democracy Club (source). Past results describe the past; each election is a new contest.

In this ward 5 candidates from 5 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 5 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 South Staffordshire: Wombourne North 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.

Hide names and parties while I read

TopicSearch every position on this ballot

Showing 5 of 5 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.

1Michael James Jones

Liberal Democrats

ShowHide

No published position found yet.

Democracy Club profile Party site

In their own words

No statement to voters supplied to Democracy Club.

Stood before

South Staffordshire council, Himley Swindon ward (by-election), July 2026 (Liberal Democrats) — not elected

Previous candidacies from Democracy Club. A record of standing, not a judgement.

Record in office

No voting record is shown for any council candidate: councils record votes by name only in limited cases (in England, budget and council tax decisions), and no dataset of them exists. Positions below come from what the candidate and their party have published.

Open Michael's page →

Where this information comes from

Positions are quoted from the candidate's or party's own published material and official records, each with its source. Where a candidate has given Democracy Club a statement to voters, it is shown word for word. If you are this candidate and something here is wrong, email us and we will check it against the source.

Published positions on the ten topics

Nothing published that we could source, yet. A councillor sits on the council that sets council tax and decides planning, housing repairs and allocations, social care, bins, parking, libraries and, in most areas, school admissions. It cannot change national tax, benefits or NHS policy.

Are you this candidate, or their agent? If something here is wrong, email us and we will check it against the source.
Look yourself: the council's election notices · the party's site · leaflets archived for this area (electionleaflets.org, a Democracy Club project).

1Michael James Jones

Liberal Democrats

2Elizabeth Beatrice Florence Keeling

The Conservative and Unionist PartyBallot-paper description. Registered party: Conservative and Unionist Party.

ShowHide

No published position found yet.

Democracy Club profile Party site

In their own words

No statement to voters supplied to Democracy Club.

Stood before

No previous candidacy on Democracy Club's record. Every candidate has this section.

Record in office

Open Elizabeth's page →

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the ten topics

Are you this candidate, or their agent? If something here is wrong, email us and we will check it against the source.
Look yourself: the council's election notices · the party's site · leaflets archived for this area (electionleaflets.org, a Democracy Club project).

2Elizabeth Beatrice Florence Keeling

Conservative and Unionist Party

3Claire McIlvenna

Green Party candidateBallot-paper description. Registered party: Green Party.

ShowHide

No published position found yet.

Democracy Club profile Party site

In their own words

No statement to voters supplied to Democracy Club.

Stood before

Staffordshire council, Wombourne ward, May 2025 (Green Party) — not elected
UK Parliament, Kingswinford And South Staffordshire, July 2024 (Green Party) — not elected
South Staffordshire council, Wombourne South ward, May 2023 (Green Party) — not elected
South Staffordshire council, Wombourne South East ward (by-election), October 2021 (Green Party) — not elected
Staffordshire council, Wombourne ward, May 2021 (Green Party) — not elected
UK Parliament, South Staffordshire, December 2019 (Green Party) — not elected
and 5 more; full history on their Democracy Club profile

Previous candidacies from Democracy Club. A record of standing, not a judgement.

Record in office

Open Claire's page →

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the ten topics

Are you this candidate, or their agent? If something here is wrong, email us and we will check it against the source.
Look yourself: the council's election notices · the party's site · leaflets archived for this area (electionleaflets.org, a Democracy Club project).

3Claire McIlvenna

Green Party

4Marie Shortland

Reform UK

ShowHide

No published position found yet.

Democracy Club profile Party site

In their own words

No statement to voters supplied to Democracy Club.

Stood before

Staffordshire council, Wombourne ward, May 2025 (Reform UK) — elected

Previous candidacies from Democracy Club. A record of standing, not a judgement.

Record in office

Open Marie's page →

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the ten topics

Are you this candidate, or their agent? If something here is wrong, email us and we will check it against the source.
Look yourself: the council's election notices · the party's site · leaflets archived for this area (electionleaflets.org, a Democracy Club project).

4Marie Shortland

Reform UK

5Anil Singh

Labour and Co-operative Party

ShowHide

Published on:MoneyEnvironmentTransport

Democracy Club profile

In their own words

Anil is proud to live in the friendly neighbourhood Lower Penn, close to the wonderful Wombourne village. He passionately beilieves local businesses should take priority for contracts with the local Council.

With very high levels of council tax, huge savings cound be generated by using systems thinking approaches by bringing the pothole fixing team in-house, devolving it to our District Council would create a more responsive service and end the cycle of botched repairs.

His highest priority is to promote 'good neightbours' across the District. Let's plant more trees, this will absorb carbon and enable nature to thrive.

Statement to voters supplied by the candidate to Democracy Club, retrieved 2026-09-24. Reproduced unedited.

Stood before

South Staffordshire council, Cheslyn Hay Village ward, May 2023 (Labour Party) — not elected

Previous candidacies from Democracy Club. A record of standing, not a judgement.

Record in office

Open Anil's page →

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the ten topics

What the tags mean

Source: Own wordsSource: ManifestoSource: Leaflet what candidates and parties publish themselves. Source: Public recordSource: Third party a public record, or someone else’s report. Candidate statements and leaflets are published as written; we check they are real, not that they are true.

Money and cost of living

What this candidate says

What they say Source: Own words

Says local businesses should take priority for council contracts, and that bringing pothole repairs in-house and devolving them to the district council would save money and end botched repairs.

In their exact words Source: Own words

With very high levels of council tax, huge savings cound be generated by using systems thinking approaches by bringing the pothole fixing team in-house, devolving it to our District Council would create a more responsive service and end the cycle of botched repairs.

Sourced: Statement to voters: Anil Singh

With very high levels of council tax, huge savings cound be generated by using systems thinking approaches by bringing the pothole fixing team in-house, devolving it to our District Council would create a more responsive service and end the cycle of botched repairs.

Statement to voters: Anil Singh, Anil Singh (candidate), via Democracy Club. Retrieved 19 September 2026. Archived copy. https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/person/103119/

Housing and property

Nothing published on this yet.

Healthcare and social care

Nothing published on this yet.

Education and universities

Nothing published on this yet.

Environment, climate and energy

What this candidate says

What they say Source: Own words

Says he wants more trees planted to absorb carbon and help nature thrive.

In their exact words Source: Own words

Let's plant more trees, this will absorb carbon and enable nature to thrive.

Sourced: Statement to voters: Anil Singh

Let's plant more trees, this will absorb carbon and enable nature to thrive.

Statement to voters: Anil Singh, Anil Singh (candidate), via Democracy Club. Retrieved 19 September 2026. Archived copy. https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/person/103119/

Transport and roads

What this candidate says

What they say Source: Own words

Says bringing pothole repairs in-house and devolving them to the district council would give a more responsive service and end botched repairs.

In their exact words Source: Own words

With very high levels of council tax, huge savings cound be generated by using systems thinking approaches by bringing the pothole fixing team in-house, devolving it to our District Council would create a more responsive service and end the cycle of botched repairs.

Sourced: Statement to voters: Anil Singh

With very high levels of council tax, huge savings cound be generated by using systems thinking approaches by bringing the pothole fixing team in-house, devolving it to our District Council would create a more responsive service and end the cycle of botched repairs.

Statement to voters: Anil Singh, Anil Singh (candidate), via Democracy Club. Retrieved 19 September 2026. Archived copy. https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/person/103119/

Immigration and borders

Nothing published on this yet.

Crime, policing and justice

Nothing published on this yet.

Defence, foreign affairs and the EU

Nothing published on this yet.

Equality and rights

Nothing published on this yet.

5Anil Singh

Labour and Co-operative Party

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?

Print my notes · Share or embed this page

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

Commons Library: constituency data dashboards — House of Commons Library. Parliamentary research service, impartial by statute.
electionleaflets.org: archive of election leaflets, searchable by area — Democracy Club. Civic-technology archive; leaflets are the parties' own material.
Electoral Commission: political finance register (donations, loans, spending) — Electoral Commission. Official register.
Full Fact — Full Fact. Independent fact-checking charity.
House of Commons Library research briefings — House of Commons Library. Parliamentary research service, impartial by statute.
Institute for Government — Institute for Government. Independent think tank on how government works.
Ipsos Issues Index: what the public says matters most — Ipsos. Polling company (monthly, unprompted survey).
LG Inform: council performance and finance data — Local Government Association. Sector body for councils.
Local Elections Archive Project: every council result since 2002 — Andrew Teale. Independent archive from Returning Officers' data, CC BY-SA.
mySociety Local Intelligence Hub: data by constituency — mySociety. Civic-technology charity; non-partisan.
UK Parliament: Commons votes (every division, how each MP voted) — UK Parliament. Official record, Open Parliament Licence.
UK Parliament: petitions, with signatures by constituency — UK Parliament. Official record.

Sources used on this page

Statement to voters: Anil Singh — Anil Singh (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.

South Staffordshire: Wombourne North ward

The 5 on your paper in the order you’ll see them

Michael James Jones

Elizabeth Beatrice Florence Keeling

Claire McIlvenna

Marie Shortland

Anil Singh

Your local councillor

What this office decides

What it does not

Everyone on one page

1Michael James Jones

In their own words

Stood before

Record in office

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the ten topics

1Michael James Jones

2Elizabeth Beatrice Florence Keeling

In their own words

Stood before

Record in office

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the ten topics

2Elizabeth Beatrice Florence Keeling

3Claire McIlvenna

In their own words

Stood before

Record in office

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the ten topics

3Claire McIlvenna

4Marie Shortland

In their own words

Stood before

Record in office

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the ten topics

4Marie Shortland

5Anil Singh

In their own words

Stood before

Record in office

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the ten topics

Money and cost of living

Housing and property

Healthcare and social care

Education and universities

Environment, climate and energy

Transport and roads

Immigration and borders

Crime, policing and justice

Defence, foreign affairs and the EU

Equality and rights

5Anil Singh

Go deeper: independent sources

Sources used on this page

1Michael James Jones

In their own words

Stood before

Record in office

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the ten topics

2Elizabeth Beatrice Florence Keeling

In their own words

Stood before

Record in office

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the ten topics

3Claire McIlvenna

In their own words

Stood before

Record in office

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the ten topics

4Marie Shortland

In their own words

Stood before

Record in office