Five largely rural wards in inner north Herefordshire are being contested in council elections on May 4. Here is our guide to each. Incumbent councillors are in bold.

Credenhill

  • CHAMBERS, Paula Bessie (Liberal Democrats)
  • JOHNSTON, Gareth Edward (Local Conservatives)
  • MATTHEWS, Bob (Independent)
  • TAYLOR, Charlie (no affiliation)

True Independents group leader Bob Matthews has held this ward since 1997, making him one of the county’s longest continuous holders of public office, and one of the best-known.

Having taken more than four times the votes of his sole Conservative opponent last time, he appears well placed to remain in office.

Weobley

  • ASHTON, Barry (Liberal Democrats)
  • JONES, Mike (Independent)
  • MASON, Nicholas (Local Conservatives)

True Independents councillor Mike Jones had a majority of 122 in a three-way contest in 2019, having lost out by just 22 votes to his Conservative opponent in 2015, the first time the ward was contested in its current form, suggesting this will again be close.

Weobley is however a political unit of some antiquity. As a parliamentary borough it returned two MPs to the House of Commons in 1295 and from 1628 until 1832.

Queenswood

  • CROCKETT, Pauline Elizabeth (Independent)
  • ENTWISLE, Nicholas Mark Warwick (Local Conservatives)
  • FRY, Tim (Liberal Democrats)
  • WILLIAMS, Colin David (Independent)

Straddling the A49 from Hope under Dinmore to Burghill, this ward has been held by Pauline Crockett since its creation in 2015. Four years later she won over four times the votes of her sole Conservative opponent, suggesting an upset here is unlikely.

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As part of the Independents for Herefordshire group, Coun Crockett been the coalition’s cabinet member for health and adult wellbeing, responsible for one of the council’s largest budgets.

Colin Williams is meanwhile standing for the True Independents.

Sutton Walls

  • HAMBLIN, Peter Bryce (Local Conservatives)
  • RICHARDSON, Scott Justin (Liberal Democrats)
  • WHITCHURCH, Taylor Sebastian (Green Party)
  • WILLIAMS, Steve (Independent)

This ward, which includes the villages of Marden and Sutton St Nicholas, looks a tough one to call following the decision of Conservative vice-chairperson of the council Kema Guthrie not to re-stand.

In 2019 she defeated Steve Williams, now standing as the True Independents candidate, by just 13 votes.

Hagley

  • ANDREWS, Paul Michael (Independent)
  • POWELL, Ivan Glenn James (Independent)
  • SMITH, Josh (Local Conservatives)
  • WILLIAMS, Stephen (Liberal Democrats)

Lying to the northeast of Hereford, this ward includes Lugwardine, Bartestree and Withington.

Independents for Herefordshire’s Paul Andrews took this seat from Conservative incumbent Dave Greenow by a margin of less than 10 per cent in 2019, though it has also been held by the LibDems within living memory. Meanwhile Ivan Powell is standing as the True Independents candidate.