Voters in the Great Horton ward go to the polls tomorrow with a choice of five candidates to fill the vacant seat on Bradford Council.

The electorate of 12,569 will be able to choose between Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Green and UKIP. The result will be announced after the polls close at 10pm.

Votes are to be counted at Great Horton Village Hall in Beldon Road.

The ward is a Labour stronghold with the seat becoming vacant after the Rev Paul Flowers, a Methodist minister, stepped down in September due to his increased responsibilities as chairman of the Co-operative Banking Group. He represented the Great Horton ward for Labour and had served on the Council since 2002.

He stood down as a member of the Council’s executive the month before, having taken on the culture, planning and highways portfolio in May 2010.

The political composition of Bradford Council currently leaves Labour with 43 councillors, the Conservatives with 28, the Liberal Democrats on 11, the Greens with three and four sitting as independents.

Whoever fills the seat will serve the remainder of the three-year period, which in this instance, is less than six months, with local council elections set for May 3.

Turnout in the ward at the Council elections earlier this year was 37 per cent with just over 4,000 voting. Labour gained 75.4 per cent of the votes, with the Conservatives 15.4 per cent and Liberal Democrats polled 9.2 per cent.

THE CANDIDATES

Celia Ruth Hickson (Green), a married mother of two, was born in Denholme Gate. Her interest in green politics and environmental issues were sparked as a student. After university she returned to Bradford to work for Yorkshire Water. Celia has lived in Shipley for 16 years and is captain of Bradford Amateur Rowing Club and a magistrate on the Keighley Bench and was the Keighley Enterprise Coach. She currently works for UnLtd, a national organisation supporting social entrepreneurs.

Mehrban Hussain (Conservative) has lived locally in Great Horton ward for about 35 years and was educated at Wyke Manor Grammar School. He is a former councillor and served University ward (now City) from May 1999 to May 2003. He is experienced and knowledgable about the working of City Hall. He takes a very keen interest in the voluntary sector, and works very closely with all sections of the community in Bradford. He is a very active fund raiser. Mehrban is married and has five grown-up children.

Abdul Jabar (Labour) was born and bred in Bradford and has lived locally in Lidget Green for 25 years. Abdul is 43 years old and is married with two young children. He works for Calderdale Council helping to rehabilitate young offenders and is particularly interested in education and youth work. In his spare time Abdul is a keen sportsman and enjoys playing football and badminton.

Mary Slingsby (Liberal Democrat), 23, was born and bred in Bradford. She lives in the centre of Great Horton with her husband Lee.

She is a newly qualified secondary school teacher specialising in Religious Education. She is also a girl guide leader and a regular volunteer at her local church. In her spare time, she enjoys card making, knitting and other arts and crafts as well as walking and reading.

Jason Paul Smith (UKIP), 40, was born and brought up in Bradford. He works full-time as an administrator/IT coordinator in Bradford. He is also a fully licensed hypnotherapist and sports hypnotist, running his own hypnotherapy business where he specialises in sports enhancement and weight loss therapy. Jason is the current Bradford and District Chairman of UKIP, the former UKIP regional secretary and is the Bradford coordinator for the campaign group No2ID. In his spare time he enjoys weight training, writing comedy and snooker.