More than a dozen candidates from five parties are campaigning across a newly unified Jesmond ward ahead of the May 7 local elections, knocking on doors across an expanded electoral map that merges North and South Jesmond for the first time.

The Liberal Democrats, Labour, Greens, and Reform UK are fielding three candidates each while the Conservatives have put forward just one. Councillors say the boundary change better reflects how the area already functions as one community. But while candidates talk up a more “unified approach”, they also acknowledge the shift will significantly increase their workload.

“Having an arbitrary line through the middle of Jesmond doesn’t really make much sense,” said Sarah Peters, the Green Party’s councillor in South Jesmond, who added that residents felt the change would improve “community cohesion”. Phillip Browne, North Jesmond’s Liberal Democrat councillor, echoed this, saying the change was “a good thing” as people who identify as being from Jesmond are “unified in a ward”.

Revised Jesmond ward boundary Photo: Newcastle City Council

On the campaign trail, candidates are already working across both areas, setting out how they would serve the whole of Jesmond rather than separate north and south wards. Browne said the current North Jesmond Liberal Democrat councillors aim to “serve the whole of Jesmond” and are “well able to take on the requirements of South Jesmond”, while Peters said the Green Party is planning “a really good quality campaign in both areas”.

The new ward will include Jesmond Vale as well as North and South Jesmond, following pushback from residents who argued that Jesmond and Jesmond Vale are an “integrated community”. Residents said excluding the Vale would separate them from the doctors’ surgeries and shops they rely on, and pointed out that the area faces different issues from neighbouring Sandyford and Ouseburn.

While the change is widely supported in principle, it brings practical challenges. The unified Jesmond ward will have roughly 6,000 residents but will still be represented by just three councillors, effectively increasing their workload.

Peters said the larger area “does make it harder for councillors to do effective work”, while Browne said there would be a “significant amount more” work, with “at least 50%” more residents to represent. By 2030, the revised ward is forecast to have 3% more electors than the Newcastle average.

Despite this, councillors say the campaign has highlighted how similar many of the issues are across Jesmond. These include everyday concerns such as potholes and road conditions, as well as housing pressures linked to the area’s large student population. Browne pointed to ongoing concerns around HMO licences and the need to ensure “students get a fair deal from their landlords”.

Peters said the boundary change would allow councillors to take “a more unified approach” to tackling these shared challenges.

However, both councillors also raised concerns about how boundaries are decided. Currently, ward sizes are based on the number of registered voters, which can fluctuate significantly in areas like Jesmond with large student populations.

Browne noted there is a “relatively high proportion of people not on the electoral roll living in Jesmond”, while Peters described the system as “quite a problematic way” to draw boundaries, arguing that areas with lower voter registration may actually need “more representation and more care”.

She suggested two possible reforms: either keeping boundaries stable while adjusting the number of councillors per ward, or basing boundaries on total population rather than registered voters, while still keeping communities together.

As polling day approaches, candidates say the shift to a single ward is already reshaping how they campaign, forcing them to think across the whole of Jesmond rather than separate constituencies, even as questions remain about how well the new structure will serve residents in the long term.

Here, in aplphabetical order, is the list of candidates standing for election in Jesmond:

Allen, Peter John – Lib Dem
Browne, Philip – Lib Dem
Coles, James – Lib Dem
Cox, Trevor Anthony – Reform
Davison, Sandra Denise – Conservative
Dowson, Tim – Green
Kell, Marianne Elizabeth – Green
McCartney, Killian – Labour
Rella, Ludovico – Green
Russell, Ellen – Reform
Stansfield, Janet Christine – Reform
Weatherill, Fin – Labour
White, John Thomas – Labour