PEOPLE in Tameside get the chance to decide who they want to represent them on the borough’s council as the area goes to the polls on Thursday, May 7.
Nationally, politics may seem more polarised with the rise of Reform UK on the right and the Green Party on the left
Many are also billing the ward results as an indication of the country’s feelings about the current Labour government.
But locally, many of the issues remain the same. Will potholes be filled? Will the bins be emptied on time? How will councillors work for my area?
Ahead of this year’s local elections, The Correspondent has asked every candidate standing to supply profiles detailing how they area and their vision for their ward.
Here is the rundown of those standing in Stalybridge North.
Liam Duff (Reform UK)
I AM a Stalybridge resident, a proud husband and father of two, and I have spent the last nine years working as an adult nurse, including four in cancer care at The Christie.
That experience has given me a clear view of how services perform under pressure, where standards are slipping and where adjustments need to be made to ensure that individuals and families receive the care that they need.
With a BSc in Adult Nursing from Manchester Metropolitan University and experience of working in New Zealand and Canada, I have seen what good care, professionalism and accountability look like in practice.
I am standing for Reform UK because I believe Tameside deserves higher standards, stronger accountability and decision-makers with real-world experience.
I aim to help improve failing adult and children’s services so our most vulnerable residents get the support they need.
As a local business owner, I also want to back local enterprise, tackle decline and help Stalybridge North thrive again.
Adrian Pearce (Labour)
IT HAS been an honour to serve as a Labour Councillor in the Stalybridge North Ward since 2015.
I have hugely enjoyed representing and working with residents and local groups, either by resolving problems or developing new initiatives.
This has included working in partnership to create the Ridgehill Hub, a focus for better services.
I have tackled flooding in Carrbrook, while in Stalybridge town centre, I have played a prominent role in its regeneration.
As your Councillor, I have campaigned to protect the green belt and build on brownfield land and to make local peoples’ voices heard on planning issues, bus services and improved health facilities.
With your support, I will build upon our successes, delivering new homes and a vibrant town centre.
I will continue to work with the police to make our streets safer and lobby for resources to support local groups and improve services to create stronger communities.
Jim Watson (Conservative Party)
I WAS born in an Ancoats pub, but my formative years were in Ashton-under-Lyne, again in a pub.
After working at Cotton Mills until 1974, I jumped ship and became a civil servant in the Tax Office, from where I was put out to grass in 2010.
I have lived in Stalybridge on Stocks Lane since 1972, bringing up four children, the boy attending West Hill and the three girls all at Copley, and have taken an interest in local issues.
I have long felt Tameside politics lacks balance, because of the large Labour majority on the council, which tends to silence debate about sensitive issues, acting like a steamroller, often rumbling in the wrong direction – an Ashton-centric one – such as the current scandalous market ground project.
Now in a resurgent Stalybridge we need more Conservative voices to shape the future away from the current biased consensus.
Philip Wilson-Marks (Green Party)
I HAVE lived in Greater Manchester for the past three years, putting down roots after buying my first home locally.
Working as a teacher in Manchester, I quickly became active in community life, helping to launch the Tameside LGBT Forum and previously serving as a trustee and later chair of Salford Pride, the organisers of the annual Pink Picnic event. I led the charity through a difficult period of transition and renewal.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I founded our local mutual aid group, coordinating support for thousands of vulnerable residents.
A lifelong trade unionist, I have consistently stood up for working people, leading hundreds of fellow staff on strike as a union branch chair to oppose a real-terms pay cut.
A champion of community cohesion as someone whose family is of migrant descent, I believe strongly in equality, inclusion and the value everyone brings to our communities, particularly at a time when some seek to divide and scapegoat.
I joined the Green Party as it offers a positive, values-led alternative and real hope for local residents at a time when politics all too often feels hostile and divisive.