BUDDING politicians have put their names forward to represent people in the new Somerset West and Taunton Council.

Elections for the new council, which came into being on April 1, are set to take place on May 2.

The new council replaces the previous authorities Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council.

There are 59 seats up for grabs across 35 wards.

Some familiar faces are on the list, as well as some new names trying to enter into local politics.

To see who is running in each ward, click here

If you have not yet registered to vote, Somerset West and Taunton Council is encouraging you to do so before the April deadline 12. Registering to vote is easy to do and only takes a few minutes online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

If you want to apply for a postal vote the deadline is 5pm on Monday April 15. You will receive a ballot paper and Postal Vote Statement.

Make sure you send back your postal vote so it arrives by Election Day –Thursday May 2. If it arrives after voting closes, it will not be counted. If it is too late to post back, you can hand it in at your local polling station or to your local council office on May 2 as long as it is for the same electoral area.

The deadline for proxy voting applications is 5pm on Wednesday April 24. Voting by proxy means that you can appoint someone to vote for you if you can’t get to your local polling station on Election Day – Thursday May 2.