Newcastle’s Conservative Party has announced its candidates for both North and South Jesmond for the upcoming local elections on May 6th.

Standing in North Jesmond is Dr. Melissa-Jane Pearson, and in South Jesmond, student Olly Scargill is up for election.

The pair hope to take advantage of the 13-point polling advantage the Tories currently have in YouGov national voting intention figures, to become the first Conservative councillors in Newcastle since 1996.

While the Conservatives have frequently struggled to gain a foothold in Jesmond in recent years, the party does have a history with the area.

The last Conservative to be elected in Newcastle City Council was Sandra Gilfillan, who served as a Jesmond councillor between 1992 and 1996. Gilfillan passed away in 2019, at the age of 75, receiving many tributes from her peers.

The seats that are vacant in North and South Jesmond did belong to Councillors Wendy Young and Arlene Ainsley respectively – both Labour councillors.

Dr. Pearson and Scargill will be up against Labour candidates, Tanya Prestwell (North Jesmond) and Charlie Gray (South Jesmond), as JesmondLocal previously reported.

You can meet and quiz all the local election candidates when JesmondLocal hosts a Zoom version of its traditional local election hustings on Tuesday May 4th from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.

This online event is free, but to be able to attend, you must register. Details of the Zoom link and passcode will be emailed to all registrants just a couple of hours before the event begins. We will also be emailing registrants with details of how they can put their questions to the candidates.

To get your free ticket, register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jesmond-local-election-hustings-2021-online-tickets-152269302583