Nunthorpe could head to the polls after a seat on the parish council became vacant. Middlesbrough Council published a formal notice on 2 July confirming that Wade Tovey has stepped down, and electors now have 14 working days to force a by-election.
At least ten local government electors must write to the Returning Officer before the deadline, giving their full name and address. Requests can be emailed to [email protected] or posted to Electoral Services at Middlesbrough Borough Council, PO Box 503, Town Hall, Middlesbrough, TS1 9FX. If enough residents come forward, a by-election will follow. Should the threshold fall short, the six remaining councillors will instead co-opt a new member.
The departure is the fourth in eight months for the council. Morgan McClintock resigned in October 2025, Adrian Walker — previously chair — left that December, and parish clerk Angela Livingstone ended a 17-year stint in January 2026. Mr Tovey announced his resignation at the annual meeting on 28 May, telling colleagues the role had become increasingly demanding and that sustained conflict had taken a personal toll.
Sophie Durham took over as parish clerk in May and signed the vacancy notice. Councillor Joanne Rush now chairs the council, with Russ Lynch as Vice Chair. Internal tensions surfaced again only two weeks before Mr Tovey’s announcement, when an extraordinary meeting narrowly rejected a motion to remove him as lead councillor for the Nunthorpe Community Centre project, which is set to open to the public this month.
All seven parish councillor seats face the ballot box at the next all-out elections in May 2027. Anyone triggering a by-election would fill the current gap sooner, giving residents a direct say on who represents them through the next phase of the parish’s work.
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