Three borough council hopefuls who failed to take the Priory Vale seat at the May 6 elections will have a second go at it next month.

The candidates for the by-election, which will take place on June 24 have been announced.

The full list is Ian Edwards of Labour, Stephen Litchfield, from the Greens, independent Elena Mari, Joseph Polson of the Liberal Democrats and Kate Tomlinson for the Tories.

Mr Edwards, Mr Litchfield and Ms Mari all contested the election in May which saw Conservative Jo Morris elected.

Mr Edwards came second with 891 votes, trailing Ms Morris by 579 votes. Mr Litchfield was third with 211 votes and Ms Mari, who stood as a member of the alliance of independent candidates on an anti-lockdown and Covid restrictions platform trailed in fourth with 138.

This time they are competing for the seat vacated by Emma Faramarzi who stepped down with just under a year left on her term.

The election could see a Tomlinson back on the council after long-serving St Andrews Conservative councillor Vera Tomlinson, mother of Justin Tomlinson, stepped down

Kate Tomlinson is married to the North Swindon MP.

After a difficult year Coun Faramarzi said she had been thinking of resigning from the council for some time and had hoped the Priory vale election could be run at the same time as the re-run election for Swindon and Wiltshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner.

That election has been caused by the ineligibility of the winning Conservative candidate Jonathon Seed because of an old drink-driving conviction.

Whoever wins Priory Vale will serve only until May 2022 when the four-year term for the seat expires.

This by-election could turn the page on an unusual and difficult chapter in north Swindon local politics.

A little over a year ago Coun Faramarzi was a senior member of the ruling Conservative group. She was chairman of the growing the economy overview and scrutiny committee. Her partner, Oliver Donachie was a member of the Conservative cabinet, with responsibility for the economy.

In May last year both councillors left the Conservative group and sat as members of their own Independent Tory Group, with Coun Donachie, who represented Haydon Wick ward next door to Priory Vale vocal in his criticism of council leader and fellow ward member David Renard.

Coun Donachie went into the recent local elections hoping to attract support and candidates to his group and to affect the balance of power, perhaps even holding critical votes in a hung chamber. In the end he lost his seat by more than 500 votes