The husbands and wives who need your vote

TWO husband and wife teams are standing as candidates in the local elections, in the same town.

Andy and Sue Cole are standing as Independent candidates in Nailsea East while Jeremy and Mary Blatchford are standing for the Tories in Nailsea North and West.

They are all well-known on the local political scene and have been councillors for a number of years.

Mr Cole, 59, chairman of North Somerset Council’s Community Services Policy and Scrutiny Panel, said they both worked well together and agreed on political issues so there was never any heated debates across the dinner table.

He said they did not find it a problem to switch off from talking politics all the time – they both had hobbies and interests outside the political arena.

Mr and Mrs Blatchford, who are both accountants by profession, have been councillors in Nailsea for a number of years.

Mr Blatchford, 61, is currently cabinet councillor in charge of the council’s children and young people’s services’ department which he treats as a full-time job.

Mrs Blatchford is vice-chair of the council’s Finance and Performance Policy and Scrutiny Panel.

Mr Blatchford said: “Sometimes we have fairly heated discussions – it would be wrong to agree about everything. But we work as a close team.

“This is a big three- member ward and it is important to work together.

“Politics is the great thing of our lives – although I think that working in politics should carry a Government health warning because of the commitment involved.”

For a full round up of election candidates in the forthcoming elections see pages 16 and 17.