Source: Essex Chronicle

Pub Date: Thursday, January 10, 2002

SIX TO CONTEST BY-ELECTION

Six candidates are set to fight the Braintree Council by-election for a vacancy in the town's west ward following the resignation of Labour's Chris Bacon after moving to Singapore.

Labour will be making a big push for the seat to ensure they maintain their hold on the authority.

The party currently has 29 of the seats, with the combined forces of other parties and independents totalling 30. Polling day is Thursday January 31.

Labour's candidate is Graham Darwood, 30, a solicitor specialising in employment law, who lives in Braintree.

Don Barnard, who has lived in the town for 35 years, is standing for the Legalise Cannabis Alliance. He will be campaigning to legalise cannabis as a crime reduction measure to free police to tackle other problems.

Terry Brooks, 56, who has successfully developed his own business after facing redundancy, is the unanimous choice of the Liberal Democrats to contest the seat.

Independent John Buchan, 56, who has lived in Braintree for 20 years, says he will be standing to "give something back to the people and the area of his adopted home."

Duncan Stewart, who lives in Bocking, is the Green Party choice. He has stood previously and has campaigned extensively on planning issues.

The Tory man is Roger Walters, 55, a county councillor who has recently been pushing for an investigation into power cuts in the area.