New date set for Copt Hill election after death of UKIP Sunderland City Council candidate Reg Coulson

Voters were due to go to the polls in the Copt Hill ward as part of the May 5 local elections, where a third of seats on the local authority were being contested.

Weeks before election day, Hetton town councillor and UKIP city council candidate Reg Coulson died unexpectedly at the age of 76.

A number of colleagues paid tribute to the town councillor who taught generations in the Hetton and Houghton area as a driving instructor.

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Mr Coulson had also been a member of Hetton Town Council, having represented the East Rainton and Moorsley ward since 2015.

Sunderland City Council’s returning officer confirmed that voting in Copt Hill would be delayed, with polls in the remaining 24 seats on May 5 continuing as planned.

The city council has now published a notice for the Copt Hill election, which will take place on Thursday, June 16, 2022.

Candidates who were validly nominated for the original planned poll on May 5, 2022, remain nominated for this rescheduled poll.

However nomination papers for additional candidates must be delivered to the council no later than 4pm on Wednesday, May 18.

Applications to register to vote must reach the council’s electoral registration officer by 11.59pm on Friday, May 27, 2022. Applications can also be made online: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

Applications, amendments or cancellations of postal votes must reach the electoral registration officer by 5pm on Monday, May 30.

Applications to vote by proxy must reach the council by 5pmon Wednesday, June 8 2022 while applications to vote by emergency proxy at the election must reach the council by 5pm on Thursday, June 16.

Candidates from UKIP, the Labour Party, Conservative Party, Green Party and an independent originally put their names forward for the Copt Hill contest.

The new list of candidates, including any additional nominations, will be published once nominations have closed on May 18, 2022.

For more information on the Copt Hill election, visit Sunderland City Council’s elections page here: www.sunderland.gov.uk/elections