VOTERS in 19 of Halton's council wards will be going to the polls on Thursday, May 3. And ex-Mayor of Halton Peter Lloyd-Jones aims to return to public life just 12 months after he was controversially ousted from the seat he had held for 25 years, representing the Ditton ward of Widnes. This time, Mr Lloyd-Jones hopes to clinch the Norton North ward in neighbouring Runcorn. Last May, a police inquiry was launched after Mr Lloyd-Jones, then mayor, claimed he had been misquoted in election leaflets published by the Friends of Halebank. Sparks could fly in Runcorn's Halton Brook ward where Bob Bryant, chairman of the Let's Go Stroke Club, is contesting the seat for the Liberal Democrats. Mr Bryant, who is campaigning against the decision to transfer hospital services from Halton to Warrington, is up against Labour's Allan Massey, chairman of North Cheshire Hospitals Trust, which runs both hospitals. Controversy has already broken out in the Appleton ward of Widnes, where Andrew Taylor is standing as Halton's sole BNP candidate. The seat is also being contested by Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. Anti-racist campaigners have already urged Appleton's electorate not to vote for the far-right party, which is fighting eight more seats in the North West than last year. Alec McFadden, president of the Merseyside Coalition Against Racism and Fascism, said: 'The views they are peddling are sickening and we are doing everything we can to stop them. It is a real slap in the face that so many candidates have been put forward for this party. 'The BNP has been targeting areas of deprivation. We are urging candidates for parties that know they have got no hope of winning a seat to withdraw, to ensure they do not split the vote in wards where the BNP is standing. 'I would urge everyone to make sure they are registered to vote.' | 
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