The first contested by-election in thirteen years for Marlborough Town Council will be held on Thursday, March 21, and residents will vote for one of two Carolines.

The Liberal Democrat Party candidate, Caroline Jane Sadler, and the Conservative Party candidate, Caroline Jane Wrench, are both standing to represent the Marlborough West Ward.

Residents will need to remember their Voter ID, as well as their preferred candidate’s surname.

The two polling stations are located at the Marlborough Leisure Centre and the Town Hall.

Liberal Democrat Caroline Sadler believes she can represent the needs of local people after having lived in the area for “approximately 30 years.”

She said: “We really like the liveliness of Marlborough and we’ve been here ever since.

“We’ve had our children here and our children went to local schools.”

She added: “I feel I can represent the town and other residents because that is who I am.”

Ms Sadler explained that recently studying a degree in politics, philosophy and economics had pushed her to become involved in local politics.

She said: “We put out a residents’ survey so we can get an idea of what people in Marlborough are really concerned about.

“They are concerned about things like potholes, the lack of affordable housing, the cost of living, the difficulty in getting doctors’ appointments and dentists’ appointments…”

She described the role of Town Councillor as being responsible for ensuring people’s issues go to the “right place”, and making the town “a pleasant place to live for everybody.”

She concluded: “I’m an alternative to the current national government, I just hope that I get the chance to represent everybody who lives in Marlborough West and I will give it my best.”

Challenging her will be the Conservative candidate, Caroline Wrench, who said it is “great” to have a contested election in the area.

She described herself as “really pleased” to have been based in Wiltshire for over a decade and to have her children in local schools.

Although she first worked for the Conservative party thirty years ago, Ms Wrench believes it is important to keep local elections related to local issues.

She said: “Most of the work done on the Town Council is apolitical.

“It’s a group of people working together for the good of the town and doing their best to resolve issues and people’s concerns, so it’s really important that the political side of it doesn’t particularly come into it.”
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She noted: “It's more specifically to do with what impacts the town.

“What I want is to do as much as I can to continue to promote it as a great place to visit and also to live in.”

Ms Wrench works with the team at the Parade Cinema and listed supporting local businesses as a priority should she be elected.

She said: “If you have a vibrant local business, you have lots of reasons to be in the town, you have lots of employment opportunities, you have lots of contributions to your communities, because the businesses want to make sure that the town’s looking good, that there is proper parking, that their customers can get to them and that people want to work for them.”

She added: “I hope, if I’m elected, I will be a really obvious town councillor in the town, as a point of contact and somebody that people can talk to.

“I will do my best to listen, to help and to support.”

She joked: “Hopefully on the day, people remember what our surnames are!”