Local government election 2023: Mid and East Antrim candidates

Forty seats are up for grabs on Mid and East Antrim Borough Council in Thursday’s local government election (May 18)
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Of these, seven are in Ballymena; six are in Bannside; seven in Braid; five in Carrick Castle; five in Knockagh; five in Larne Lough and five in Coast Road electoral areas.

Currently, 16 seats are held by the DUP, seven by Alliance; six, Ulster Unionist; five, TUV; three by Independents; two, Sinn Fein and one SDLP.

In Mid and East Antrim, the DUP is fielding the following candidates: in Ballymena, Reuben Glover; Lawrie Philpott; Andrew Wright; Bannside, Tyler Hoey;Thomas Gordon; Braid, Beth Adger; William McCaughey; Julie Philpott; Carrick Castle, Billy Ashe; Cheryl Johnston; John McDermott; Coast Road, Angela Smyth; Andrew Clarke; Knockagh, Peter Johnston; Marc Collins; Larne Lough, Gregg McKeen; Paul Reid.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council's headquarters at The Braid, Ballymena.Mid and East Antrim Borough Council's headquarters at The Braid, Ballymena.
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council's headquarters at The Braid, Ballymena.

The Alliance Party has 10 candidates across the borough. Knockagh, Noel Williams; Aaron Skinner; Ballymena, John Hyland; Carrick Castle, Lauren Gray; Coast Road, Gerardine Mulvenna; Niamh Spurle; Braid, Chelsea Harwood; Larne Lough, Maeve Donnelly, Robert Logan; Bannside, Jack Gibson.

The Ulster Unionist candidates for the council area are: Coast Road, Olivia Swan; Maureen Morrow; Ballymena, Colin Crawford; Bannside, Jackson Minford; Carrick Castle, Bethany Ferris; Robin Stewart; Braid, Alan Barr; Keith Turner; Knockagh, Andrew Wilson; Gary McCabe; Larne Lough, Roy Beggs; James Carson.

The TUV – No Sea Border is fielding in Ballymena, Matthew Armstrong; Bannside, Timothy Gaston; Anna Henry; Stewart McDonald; Braid, Christopher Jamieson; Matthew Warwick; Coast Road, Wes Stevenson; Knockagh, James Strange; Larne Lough, Ronnie Donnell; Carrick Castle, Frances Margaret Henderson.

The Sinn Fein candidates seeking election in Mid and East Antrim are: Ballymena, Bréanainn Lyness; Bannside, Ian Friary; Braid, Archie Rae; Coast Road, James McKeown.

Seeking Election

Independent candidates seeking election in Mid and East Antrim Borough are: Bobby Hadden, Knockagh; Rodney Quigley, Ballymena.

The SDLP js fielding Eugene Reid in Ballymena; Morgan Murphy, Bannside.

The Green Party is seeking seats in Larne Lough fielding Philip Randle; Coast Road, Eddie Alcorn; Carrick Castle, Jenny Hutchinson.

Seeking election in Carrick Castle is PUP candidate Jim McCaw.

The single transferable vote system is used to elect members of local government with voters required to rank candidates in order of preference. Each candidate needs a minimum number of votes to be elected. This number is calculated according to the number of seats and votes cast.

Polling stations will open at 7am next Thursday morning and voting will continue until 10pm.

Voters must produce one of the following documents to confirm identity:

  • A UK, Irish or EEA driving licence (photographic part) (provisional accepted)
  • A UK, Irish or EU passport (including the Irish Passport Card)
  • An Electoral Identity Card
  • A Translink Half Fare SmartPass
  • A Translink Senior SmartPass
  • A Translink 60+ SmartPass
  • A Translink War Disabled SmartPass
  • A Translink Blind Person’s SmartPass
  • A Biometric Immigration Document

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter

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