{"licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"This Shit Matters (thisshitmatters.org); candidate data Democracy Club CC BY 4.0","generated_at":"2026-09-19T10:51:05.258Z","ballot":{"ballot_paper_id":"local.blackpool.claremont.by.2026-10-01","election_id":"local.blackpool.2026-10-01","level":"local","poll_date":"2026-10-01","area_name":"Blackpool Borough: Claremont ward","voting_system":"FPTP","by_election_reason":"DEATH","candidates_locked":true,"official_sopn_url":"https://www.blackpool.gov.uk/Your-Council/Voting-and-elections/Documents/2026/SOPN-Claremont-Final.pdf","democracy_club_url":"http://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/api/next/ballots/local.blackpool.claremont.by.2026-10-01/","retrieved_at":"2026-09-19T05:54:04.838212+00:00","previous_ballot_paper_id":"local.blackpool.claremont.2023-05-04","archived":false,"area_lat":53.8262643235187,"area_lng":-3.04879439910965,"area_point_note":"Centroid of the ONS 2024 boundary. 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People want border control, economic competence, fairness, real equality, not artificial DEI targets, quotas and positive discrimination.\n\nOn the 4th of July, in Blackpool South, vote for Mark Butcher, vote Reform UK.\n\nMark Butcher, founder of Christian soup kitchen, Amazing Graze has been announced as the Reform UK prospective parliamentary candidate for the Blackpool South Constituency by election to be held on July 4th 2024.","statement_retrieved_at":"2026-09-19T05:49:39+00:00","parliament_member_id":null,"parliament_match_note":null,"photo_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/media/images/people/101069/f273fbf7-a03d-4486-bb26-6998d47c98db.png","photo_copyright":"profile-photo","photo_uploader":"mattl","photo_source":"Uploaded by mattl: Approved from photo moderation queue","parties":{"name":"Reform UK","colour_hex":"#12B6CF","emblem_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/media/emblems/PP7931/7762_Emblem_7762.jpg","official_site_url":"https://www.reformparty.uk/","emblem_description":"Emblem 1","parent_party_ec_id":null}},{"id":80,"ballot_paper_id":"local.blackpool.claremont.by.2026-10-01","dc_person_id":139491,"dc_person_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/api/next/people/139491/","name":"Katie Helen Donnelli-Hunn","surname_sort":"donnelli-hunn","party_ec_id":"PP53","party_name_on_ballot":"Labour Party","party_description_on_ballot":"","homepage_url":null,"wikipedia_url":null,"statement_to_voters_present":true,"previous_candidacies_count":0,"is_incumbent":false,"retrieved_at":"2026-09-19T05:54:23.710958+00:00","statement_to_voters":"This summer, Claremont lost a dedicated public servant, Councillor Ivan Taylor, who served local people for over 50 years.\n\nAs Claremont looks to the future, I believe residents deserve a councillor who will continue to put local people first.\n\nI was born and raised in Blackpool, and this town has shaped so much of who I am. We have so much to be proud of and I believe there is something special about Claremont.\n \nClaremont itself has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I came here for workshops at Blackpool Central Library as a child, attended my first Blackpool Youth Council event here, recorded music at Rock Hard Studios, and have spent more family nights than I can count at Funny Girls. They might seem like small things, but they’re the memories that make somewhere feel like home and they’re part of why standing to represent Claremont feels so personal to me.\n\nOne of my core values is I feel passionately about people being heard, treated fairly, and supported when they need it. It’s what led me to study Law, to volunteer in legal advice centres helping people who couldn’t afford legal support, and ultimately to the work I do today.\n\nI now work as a caseworker, helping people who are often dealing with some of the most difficult moments in their lives. That can mean working with councils, housing providers and public services, navigating systems that can feel impossible to navigate alone, or simply making sure somebody’s voice isn’t ignored.\n\nAnd that work has taught me what good representation really looks like.\nIt’s about listening properly, taking people seriously, showing up and sticking with an issue until you’ve done everything you can to get something changed.\n\nThat’s the kind of councillor I want to be for Claremont.","statement_retrieved_at":"2026-09-19T05:49:40+00:00","parliament_member_id":null,"parliament_match_note":null,"photo_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/media/images/people/139491/3e5d7b3b-bebb-48c3-8d2d-99c644fea61f.png","photo_copyright":"profile-photo","photo_uploader":"Mojoblackwhite","photo_source":"Uploaded by Mojoblackwhite: Approved from photo moderation queue","parties":{"name":"Labour Party","colour_hex":"#E4003B","emblem_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/media/emblems/PP53/52_Emblem_52.gif","official_site_url":"https://labour.org.uk/manifesto/","emblem_description":"Rose with the word Labour underneath","parent_party_ec_id":null}},{"id":81,"ballot_paper_id":"local.blackpool.claremont.by.2026-10-01","dc_person_id":139502,"dc_person_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/api/next/people/139502/","name":"Rob Jones","surname_sort":"jones","party_ec_id":"PP63","party_name_on_ballot":"Green Party","party_description_on_ballot":"","homepage_url":null,"wikipedia_url":null,"statement_to_voters_present":true,"previous_candidacies_count":0,"is_incumbent":false,"retrieved_at":"2026-09-19T05:54:23.710958+00:00","statement_to_voters":"*Claremont Deserves Better*\n\nToo long have we have not been listened to with our concerns. We deserve the opportunity to be proud of our area but at this moment the council have not been interested in helping. There is litter everywhere, dirty alleys and dog poo. For myself and a lot of residents we have to dodge this mess every time we leave the front door of our homes.\n\nI want to see a cleaner Claremont, we need our Parks to be clean and safe.\n\nAs someone who grew up in Claremont and still lives here, I feel what the rest of us feel on a day to day basis.\n\n*Mental Health* is another important topic to me, I think organising more social events in the community, clubs and projects.\n\n*The Cost of Living* we all are feeling the pinch of it. I would like to work on assisting the cost of living for Claremont.\n\nAs your councillor, I will be the first to hold up my hands and state I’m not infallible, I won’t always know the answer immediately but what I can promise is that I will go out of my way to learn, research and come up with my own answer. I will be your representative, I will listen to you and always fight your corner.","statement_retrieved_at":"2026-09-19T05:49:40+00:00","parliament_member_id":null,"parliament_match_note":null,"photo_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/media/images/people/139502/44c1dcf6-e64d-40c8-a651-fce2b1948856.png","photo_copyright":"profile-photo","photo_uploader":"Rob4Claremont","photo_source":"Uploaded by Rob4Claremont: Approved from photo moderation queue","parties":{"name":"Green Party","colour_hex":"#02A95B","emblem_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/media/emblems/PP63/1119_Emblem_1119.jpg","official_site_url":"https://greenparty.org.uk/","emblem_description":"World with petals and Green Party name English","parent_party_ec_id":null}},{"id":82,"ballot_paper_id":"local.blackpool.claremont.by.2026-10-01","dc_person_id":72249,"dc_person_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/api/next/people/72249/","name":"Kim Sherrie Knight","surname_sort":"knight","party_ec_id":"ynmp-party:2","party_name_on_ballot":"Independent","party_description_on_ballot":"","homepage_url":null,"wikipedia_url":null,"statement_to_voters_present":false,"previous_candidacies_count":5,"is_incumbent":false,"retrieved_at":"2026-09-19T05:54:23.710958+00:00","statement_to_voters":null,"statement_retrieved_at":null,"parliament_member_id":null,"parliament_match_note":null,"photo_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/media/images/people/72249/2afa5d1d-c4a6-471b-a0ef-510fc16ed859.png","photo_copyright":"profile-photo","photo_uploader":"Alfredthegreat","photo_source":"Uploaded by Alfredthegreat: Approved from photo moderation queue","parties":{"name":"Independent","colour_hex":null,"emblem_url":null,"official_site_url":null,"emblem_description":null,"parent_party_ec_id":null}},{"id":83,"ballot_paper_id":"local.blackpool.claremont.by.2026-10-01","dc_person_id":101082,"dc_person_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/api/next/people/101082/","name":"John Jake Thomson","surname_sort":"thomson","party_ec_id":"PP52","party_name_on_ballot":"Conservative and Unionist Party","party_description_on_ballot":"Local Conservatives","homepage_url":null,"wikipedia_url":null,"statement_to_voters_present":false,"previous_candidacies_count":1,"is_incumbent":false,"retrieved_at":"2026-09-19T05:54:23.710958+00:00","statement_to_voters":null,"statement_retrieved_at":null,"parliament_member_id":null,"parliament_match_note":null,"photo_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/media/images/people/101082/43f78bcb-bdc9-48ea-8435-b1e2c6b32b37.png","photo_copyright":"other","photo_uploader":"maj","photo_source":"Uploaded by maj: Approved from photo moderation queue","parties":{"name":"Conservative and Unionist Party","colour_hex":"#0087DC","emblem_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/media/emblems/PP52/7730_Emblem_7730.jpg","official_site_url":"https://www.conservatives.com/","emblem_description":"Emblem 1 Conservatives English logo","parent_party_ec_id":null}}],"claims":[{"id":264,"ballot_paper_id":"local.blackpool.claremont.by.2026-10-01","candidate_id":81,"party_ec_id":"PP63","topic":"healthcare_and_social_care","tier":"documented","claim_text":"Says mental health is important to him and proposes more community social events, clubs and projects.","source_id":49,"source_quote":"*Mental Health* is another important topic to me, I think organising more social events in the community, clubs and projects.","applies_if":{"_published_by_source_rule":true},"geom":null,"status":"verified","supersedes":null,"drafted_by":"ai:claude (drafted from the candidate statement; 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