The former Labour Party councillor for Nether Edge and Sharrow, Nasima Akther, who stood down for health reasons, has spoken out in praise of her replacement Jim Steinke. Councillor Akther had had previously been suspended by the Labour Party for not voting along party lines on a motion regarding tree felling. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
Labour won the Nether Edge and Sharrow by-election by a narrow margin, with Jim Steinke beating Rob Unwin of the Greens by just 132 votes. Steinke told Sheffield Live! that he accepted the tree felling programme had boosted the Green Party vote but he insisted Labour had run a positive campaign and called for a “progressive alliance” within council. Simon Thake reports.
The Sheffield Council by-election takes place on Thusday 22 June, with candidates from the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Green Party all in the running. The by-election follows the resignation of Labour councillor Nasima Akther and the winning candidate will join Labour Party councillor Mohammed Maroof and Green Party councillor Alison Teale as representatives for the Nether Edge and Sharrow ward. On the ballot paper are Shahid Ali (Liberal Democrats), Jim Steinke (Labour Party) and Rob Unwin (Green Party). Sheffield Live! reporters Azz Mohammed and Simon Thake interviewed the candidates.
A YouGov poll of 50,000 people estimates 63 per cent of voters aged between 18 and 29 supported Labour in the General Election compared to just 22 per cent for the Tories. Earlier this week Sheffield Young Labour held a rally to protest Tory proposals to negotiate with the Democratic Unionist Party to support a minority government. Sheffield Live! reporter Simon Thake spoke to Sheffield Hallam Conservatives for their perspective on the election.
Following the surprise decision of Tim Farron to step as Liberal Democrat leader, Sheffield Live! spoke to Shaffaq Mohammed, leader of the Lib Dem group at Sheffield Council. In a statement issued less than a week after the General Election, Farron said he was “torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader” and that he should have dealt “more wisely” with questions relating to his faith during the election campaign. Farron’s views on gay sex became a subject of growing media attention as he sought to deflect questioning on the matter. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
Over five hundred people took part in a rally at Barker’s Pool called to oppose the proposed pact between the Tory party and the DUP. The rally was one of many organised around the UK by Young Labour in response to Theresa’s May’s decision to negotiate a deal with the DUP to prop up her minority government. Azz Mohammed reports for Sheffield Live!
The Election Register will close at one minute to midnight on Monday 22 May for anyone who has not yet registered to vote in the General Election 2017. Young people who have not previously voted are especially being encourage to register by the deadline. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Hassun el Zafar of the National Union of Students.
Further information:
https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
The Sheffield College are encouraging students and young people to register to vote in the General Election ahead of the deadline on Monday 22 May. The College have loaned a portable voting booth from Sheffield Council to raise student awareness of elections and voter registration. It is touring college campuses before the voting registration deadline following a launch at the Olive Grove campus off East Bank Road. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Steve Kelly, head of student services.
Theresa May’s plan for a general election was confirmed today after MPs voted by more than the two-thirds majority required for an early poll. The House of Commons voted by a margin of 522 votes to 13 with Labour and the Lib Dems supporting the move. Sheffield Live! reporter spoke to Dr Andy Price, head of politics at Sheffield Hallam University.
After the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the USA, we spoke to Dr Joshua Forstenzer, an American national and Honorary Fellow in Philosophy at the University of Sheffield. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!