Overview
- Jeanette Sunderland died at the Marie Curie Hospice in Bradford, with her family saying it followed a very brief and unexpected illness and asking for privacy.
- Under election law, the death of a nominated candidate halts that ward’s contest and requires a fresh poll within weeks, so Idle and Thackley will now vote in June.
- Bradford Council said all other polls scheduled for May 7 will go ahead and that new poll cards will be sent to Idle and Thackley voters once the June date is set.
- Liberal Democrats Alun Griffiths and Aislin Naylor will remain candidates in the rearranged ward election, with a third candidate to be announced.
- Colleagues across parties praised Sunderland’s three decades of service and highlighted her hospice fundraising, including a trek in Iceland last September.