From Olympians to Love Island stars:The famous face standing in the local elections in your area
Local councillors are usually obscure figures, passionate local activists hoping to improve their areas or ambitious party loyalists wanting to climb the electoral ladder.
But among the thousands of councillors standing across the country on Thursday, a few names stand out.
From Olympians to ousted ex-MPs, The Independent looks at how the main parties are hoping star power will help their candidates over the line in one of the most unpredictable sets of local elections in British history.
Stiliyan Petrov, the son of an ex-Aston Villa and Bulgaria captain of the same name, is standing for Reform UK in the May local elections.
His father is Bulgaria's most capped player and he hopes to represent Nigel Farage 's party in Lapworth & West Kenilworth, Warwickshire.
'I decided to stand for election because I think it's time the working-class people and the youth of this country have a voice that'll actually represent them,' the ex-professional footballer's son said.
James Cracknell
James Cracknell is standing for a seat on Oxfordshire County Council.
The double Olympic gold medal-winning rower is standing as a Conservative for Henley, having previously attempted to become the area's MP.
He was awarded an OBE for 'services to sport' in the 2005 New Year Honours list and is promising to help Henley 'get its buzz back', according to the local Conservatives.
As a rower, he has made holding water companies to account over river cleanliness a key issue he is fighting on.
Luke Campbell
Reform UK's candidate for the Hull and East Yorkshire mayoral election is also an Olympic gold medalist.
The boxer is swapping his gloves for the chance to represent the region as the first head of the new combined authority.
He is the favourite to win, according to a recent More in Common poll, in what promises to be one of the closest results of the night as Reform, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and Labour all stand a chance.
Mr Campbell, who won gold at the London 2012 Olympics, said Hull and East Yorkshire has 'given me everything' and that he now wants to fight for the region in return.
Ollie Williams
The Love Island star is hoping to strike it lucky with voters and win a Reform UK seat on Cornwall council.
Ollie Williams appeared on the ITV dating show in 2020, but left after just three days claiming he had feelings for another woman.
The 29-year-old sparked fury among viewers as photos emerged of him posing beside dead animals, leading to suggestions he was 'trophy hunting'.
He has avoided the limelight in the years since his appearance on the ITV show, but is now standing for Reform in the Lostwithiel and Lanreath ward.
'Our freedom of speech and society has been eroded for far too long and it's time to act,' he declared.
Arron Banks
Self-styled 'Brexit bad boy' Arron Banks co-founded the Leave.EU campaign alongside now Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice.
The long-standing Farage supporter is now running to become the West of England mayor for his party.
Announcing his candidacy at Reform's local election launch in Birmingham, he called on people to 'vote Banksy for Bristol'. As well as close ties to Mr Farage, Mr Banks has a history of ties to Donald Trump and was pictured with him after the US Presidential election in 2016. He has cited Mr Trump's success as being the result of connecting with voters on an emotional level.
Mr Banks and Mr Farage drew the interest of Robert Mueller as part of his investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Mr Banks described the investigation as a 'witch hunt'.
Mr Banks also made headlines after the tragic murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016. At the time, he commissioned a controversial poll on whether her murder had affected public opinion on voting.
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The Herald Scotland
42 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Reeves signs off on £14bn to build new nuclear plant Sizewell C
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South Wales Argus
an hour ago
- South Wales Argus
Family visa income threshold should not rise to skilled worker level
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Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Family visa income threshold should not rise to skilled worker level
Skilled workers are only eligible to come to the UK if they earn a salary of £38,700 or more, compared to £29,000 required mainly for British citizens or settled residents to bring their partner to the country under family visas. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) set out its recommendations after a review requested by the Home Secretary to look at how to set a minimum income requirement (MIR) for family visas that balances economic wellbeing and family life. The previous government planned to introduce the higher threshold for family visa applicants to be equivalent to the skilled worker level. But the committee's report said: 'Given the family route that we are reviewing has a completely different objective and purpose to the work route, we do not understand the rationale for the threshold being set using this method. 'We do not recommend the approach based on the skilled worker salary threshold as it is unrelated to the family route and is the most likely to conflict with international law and obligations (e.g. Article 8).' Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights is the right to private and family life that can be applied to migration cases in the UK. The UK's current £29,000 threshold is high compared to other high-income countries reviewed by the MAC. The analysis found a high proportion of applicants for partner visas are women and 90% are under the age of 44. Pakistan is the largest nationality to use the route applying from outside the country. The committee's analysis gave some options that a threshold of £24,000 to £28,000 could give more priority to economic wellbeing, such as reducing the burden to taxpayers, than on family life. It also suggested a criteria of £23,000 to £25,000 to ensure families can support themselves but not necessarily require them to earn a salary above minimum wage. Chairman of MAC, Professor Brian Bell, said: 'While the decision on where to set the threshold is ultimately a political one, we have provided evidence on the impacts of financial requirements on families and economic wellbeing, and highlight the key considerations the government should take into account in reaching its decision.' Shadow home secretary Chris Philp and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch (Ben Whitley/PA) While the committee said it is not possible to predict how different threshold changes would impact net migration, it said lowering the amount to £24,000, for example, could mean an increase of around one to three percent of projected future net migration. The report added: 'Determining the MIR threshold involves striking a balance between economic wellbeing and family life. 'Whilst a lower threshold would favour family life and entail a higher net fiscal cost to the taxpayer, a higher threshold (below a certain level) would favour economic wellbeing. 'But a higher number of families would experience negative impacts relating to financial pressures, prolonged separation, relationships, adults' mental health and children's mental health and education.' The committee advised against raising the threshold for families with children as despite them facing higher living costs, the impacts on family life appear 'particularly significant' for children. It also recommended keeping the income amount required the same across all regions of the UK. The MAC also said their review was 'greatly hindered' by insufficient data and urged for better data collection by the Home Office on characteristics of each applicant to be linked to outcomes to inform further policy decisions. Reacting to the recommendations, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the report shows that raising the salary threshold will drive migration numbers down and urged for the threshold to be increased to £38,000. 'Migration figures remain far too high. It's time to end ECHR obstruction, raise the salary thresholds, and take back control of who comes into this country,' he said. 'As Kemi and I said on Friday, if the ECHR stops us from setting our own visa rules, from deporting foreign criminals or from putting Britain's interests first, then we should leave the ECHR.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'The Home Secretary commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee to undertake a review. 'We are now considering its findings and will respond in due course. More broadly, the government has already committed to legislate to clarify the application of Article 8 of the ECHR for applicants, caseworkers and the courts.'
