As I mentioned at the end of last week the nominations for the council elections closed last week and the statement of people nominated was published today. The full list can be downloaded from the council.

This is the sort of thing that only really interests anoraks like me, but to give you the highlights.

Every ward has a full slate of Conservative, Labour and (surprisingly) Liberal Democrat candidates. I don’t think the Lib Dems have managed that in my memory. Having said that, I’m not sure how committed they are, I know at least one has publicly stated being a paper candidate, and Layla Moran, their parliamentary candidate is also standing for council in Latchmere.

The Greens have fielded a number of candidates, with at least one per ward. Four years ago they managed to beat Labour in a number of places, so might be interesting to watch.

Then there are a few ‘others’:

  • A Christian Peoples Alliance candidate in Latchmere
  • An independent candidate in Southfields
  • A Communist in Tooting
  • And most disappointing of all, a BNP candidate in West Hill

I believe Wandsworth is a remarkably cohesive borough, so it’s a real pity that they feel there’s enough division here to field a candidate (even worse, they are supposedly fielding a candidate in the Putney parliamentary election). What’s particularly interesting, however, is the ward and constituency they have chosen: the BNP takes votes from Labour – so choosing a Conservative-held ward and a Conservative-held constituency does not seem terribly logical. Given that they won’t win and their aim is, one assumes, a good showing, they’d have been better somewhere with a stronger Labour vote.

After writing about the selection of a Lib Dem candidate earlier this week I’ve since discovered that there’s also a Green candidate selected for Battersea, Guy Evans. Interestingly, he’s either so confident of victory (or possibly so confident of defeat) he’s heading off mid-campaign to take part in the gruelling Marathon des Sables. I can’t help but admire his dedication and determination – as an occasional runner I fantasise about a single marathon, but even then realise I’m nothing like fit or dedicated enough – to tackle the equivalent of 5½ in the Sahara takes some grit.

I wish him luck, but do have to question his commitment to the constituency and his campaign if he’s not even here for a good chunk of it.