Candidates for May elections announced

Three candidates will contest the upcoming Tees Valley Combined Authority Mayoral Election, which will take place on Thursday 2 May.

The candidates are:

• Ben HOUCHEN (Conservative Party Candidate)
• Chris MCEWAN (Labour and Co-operative party)
• Simon THORLEY (Liberal Democrats)

Residents who are not on the electoral register who wish to vote in this election must apply to register by Tuesday 16 April.

Registration is simple and only takes a few minutes to complete by visiting the dedicated GOV.UK web page. You'll need to provide your date of birth and National Insurance number.

Those who are registered to vote and would like to vote by post must apply by 5pm on Wednesday, April 17. To apply to vote by post, visit the GOV.UK apply for a postal vote web page.

Those who are registered to vote and would like to vote by proxy must give a reason for the decision to have a proxy vote and apply before 5pm on Wednesday, April 24. To apply, visit the GOV.UK apply to vote by proxy web page.

To vote in a polling station you are required to show an accepted form of photographic ID, if you do not have an accepted form of Photographic ID you can apply for a voter authority certificate online at the GOV.UK apply for photo ID webpage by 5pm Wednesday 24 April.

For assistance you can contact your local Electoral Services team and if you live in the Stockton-on-Tees Borough, call the Voter Registration Helpline on 01642 526196.

The helpline for Darlington residents is 01325 406444 or for more information visit www.darlington.gov.uk/elections  - click on 'current and future elections' - where you can also find details of the three candidates for the election of a Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Durham Police area, which also takes place on Thursday 2 May.

The helpline for Hartlepool residents is 01429 523017, Middlesbrough residents it is 01642 729771 and Redcar and Cleveland residents it is 01642 774774. For more information, visit the elections and voting webpage.