Councillors and party activists are campaigning hard for people’s votes throughout Reading for the council elections, which are shaping up to be one of the most competitive in years.
Voters will go to the polls on Thursday, May, to elect 17 representatives on Reading Borough Council for all 16 wards.
Elections in Reading have been relatively static since the all-out election in 2022, with the votes in 2023 and 2024 seeing just one change each.
In both cases, the Conservatives lost to the Labour Party in the Caversham Heights and Emmer Green wards, respectively.
But this year could see a number of seats change hands in the first election since the Labour government came to power in July 2024.
Some of the most hotly contested wards are in West Reading.
There will be an inevitable change in Battle ward, where Independent councillor Sarah Hacker has stepped down, clearing the way for someone new to take over.
While Battle has traditionally been a Labour stronghold, the Green Party has been campaigning hard with their candidate Zoe Mann.
Patrikshya Gurung is hoping to win it for Labour, with other candidates being Ben Blackmore for the Conservatives, John Grout for the Liberal Democrats and Diana Whitehouse for Reform UK.
Further west, Kentwood is competitive between Labour, the Conservatives and the Greens.
Glenn Dennis, the sitting Labour councillor, is hoping to keep his seat.
He served as mayor for 2024/25. The Conservatives have typically been the second biggest party in Kentwood, which is represented by councillor Raj Singh, the Tory group leader.
Their candidate David Milne-Buckley will be seeking to win it.
However, prediction site Britain Votes Now has Green candidate Tim Liddle pipping the Conservatives with a 43 per cent chance of winning.
Some of the biggest political battles will be fought north of the river.
Clarence Mitchell became the sole Reform UK councillor for Emmer Green after switching from the Conservatives earlier this year.
He was elected as a Conservative twice, in 2021 and 2022, with his defection being a crucial test to see whether Reform is competitive in Reading going forward.
The Conservatives will be vying to get the seat back with their candidate, Alex Smith.
Labour has been on the march in Emmer Green, with Daya Pal Singh beating the sitting Conservative councillor Simon Robinson in 2024.
They are hoping their candidate Ollie White can solidify that, but with a competitive field, the Greens and their nominee Hannah Conibear have been campaigning in the area. Nisikant Gupta is standing for the Liberal Democrats.
Caversham Heights will also be a battleground as voters there will elect two councillors.
Isobel Ballsdon has been a Conservative councillor since 2006, and is standing to keep her place on the council.
There is a vacancy in the ward as Sam Juthani, the Labour councillor, has stood down prior to the closure of his term.
Saadia Saadat, the other Conservative candidate, is hoping to win it back.
Meanwhile, Labour will want to follow up on its wins from 2022 to 2024 with its candidates Jo Musominari and Richard Stainthorp, who was the mayor for 2003/4.
Also standing in the ward are Adil Khan and Danny McNamara for the Greens, Vania Kosta-Krol and Jo Ramsay for the Lib Dems, and Ilayda Molloy and James Stothard for Reform.
