HEREFORDSHIRE COUNCIL COULD BE HEADING FOR COALITION Herefordshire council is on course for a coalition if voting patterns reflect the spread of candidate representation. No party is contesting every one of the seats available in an election that, on paper, is the tightest race yet for seats on Herefordshire Council. Stakes are raised with ward changes that slim the council down to 53 councillors elected on a one ward, one member basis. The Conservatives contest the most seats with 50, It’s Our County follow to fight 41, 28 candidates stand as Independents, the Liberal Democrats field 23 candidates and have already secured Kington where Terry James is unopposed. 7 green candidates, 5 Ukip candidates 5 candidates calling themselves “unattached” and a lone Labour candidate complete the line-up. The Tories ran the latter stages of the last council as a minority when set against the potential for defeat by a combined opposition vote. Overtures to other groups to take “ seats at the table” were rebuffed. Given the spread of group and party representation in the list of 2015 candidates – and projected voter return basis on patterns in the previous election and subsequently by-elections with newcomers Ukip as the variable – there are limitation on any party or group looking to take outright majority free from a combined opposition challenge. The more likely prospect – on present numbers – is a negotiated power-share through coalition. Three wards see councillors from the previous authority pitched against each other – directly so in Ledbury North where the two candidates are Tory Phil Bettington and Liz Harvey of IOC. Eight wards are wholly contested by candidates who were not part of the previous authority. Twelve councillors from the previous authority are not standing, including former council leader John Jarvis, cabinet member young people and children’s wellbeing, Jeremy Millar, Mark Hubbard, a founder of IOC. Others off the ballot are: Conservative- Andrew Atkinson, Adrian Blackshaw, John Hope, Brig. Peter Jones, Nick Nenadich. Independent-Carl Attwood, Robert Preece and Sally Robertson. IOC- Liz Chave. The Liberal Democrats already have Kington in the bag – because no-one is standing against them. That keeps candidate Terry james in the Kington seat he first won for the old Herefordshire and Worcester County Council in 1981. He has not left that seat since, sharing it with a stint on the former Leominster District Council and Herefordshire Council that he came leader on it’s creation in 1998. Mr James said he was “surprised-but not surprised” by the lack of challenge in what could be considered a contestable seat. He will be devoting his “campaign time” to assisting the L D cause overall.