TWO candidates have been nominated for the by-election in the Buckskin ward of Basingstoke council.

Labour and the Conservatives have chosen representatives to fight for the seat on Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, which is vacant following the resignation of Labour leader David Potter.

The final day for candidates to be nominated is Friday, November 24, and the official list of all those standing for the seat will be published on November 28.

Voters in the ward will be going to the polls on December 21 to choose who will represent them until the May borough council elections next year, when the seat will be up for grabs again.

Labour has put forward Gill Gleeson, of Coronation Road, South View, Basingstoke, who is the treasurer of the Basingstoke and Deane Labour Party.

She is currently taking a refresher course to return to teaching after spending the last 12 years working in Whitehall.

The Conservatives hope their candidate, Robert Taylor, will secure the party a majority on the borough council of 31 seats to the other parties' 29.

The 56-year-old, who works in the security industry, lives in Black Dam, Basingstoke, with his wife Fiona.

He serves as a magistrate and has previously worked as a divisional director of social services for the former Berkshire County Council.

The Liberal Democrats have not yet announced who their candidate will be, although they are expected to nominate someone to stand in Buckskin.

As reported in The Gazette on Thursday, November 9, Mr Potter, who had represented the ward on the borough council for about five years and was the Labour group leader on the council, resigned on November 6.

An error by council officers meant the local authority initially thought a by-election would not be needed before the next borough council elections in May 2007. However, following closer examination of the rules, a by-election was called on Wednesday, November 8.