Conservatives confirm Clare Satchwell will stand in Hayling West ward in May elections

Clare Satchwell has been announced as the Conservative candidate for Hayling West after new face Martin Box stepped down from the role earlier this month. 

Selection in the ward has proved difficult to nail down for any Tory candidate so far, with sitting Havant Borough Council leader Michael Wilson failing to be reselected by the party to stand there in November – despite it being his own ward for the past nine years. 

He will now stand for the Conservatives in Hayling East, Ms Satchwell’s current ward, as she makes the move to West – having now scored the selection despite falling foul of it in December. 

‘I am delighted to have been selected by members Conservative Party members in Hayling West to be their candidate in the local elections in May,’ she said. 

‘My four main areas of focus will be planning and the Local Plan – which is currently out for consultation – coastal erosion, flooding and the Hayling Ferry.  

‘Being selected is only the beginning of a new journey, now there is a lot of hard work to be done to get elected and to continue to work hard for the residents of Hayling Island.' 

Ms Satchwell’s selection, which came about at a meeting of Tories on Hayling Island on Tuesday, ends a period of uncertainty for established councillors in both wards – which campaigners had said left them ‘shocked and worried’ for the island’s politics.