Here is a list of all the candidates standing in Hunslet & Riverside ward for election to Leeds City Council on Thursday 7 May 2026.
We have contacted all the candidates to ask them about why they are standing and what their policies are. We will publish their answers as they send them in so keep checking back to compare answers and make your choice.
We held an online hustings meeting on Tuesday 28 April, you can watch a recording of the meeting here:
Taiwo Funmilayo ADEYEMI
The Conservative Party Candidate
Address in Leeds*
Ed CARLISLE
Green Party
153 Beeston Road, Leeds, LS11 6AW
I love this corner of Leeds. I’ve lived, worked, and volunteered across our communities here for nearly 25 years. Co-leading dozens of projects, events, and campaigns. Year-round support and advocacy work. Rolling up my sleeves, with others, day in day out, to make good things happen.
And serving as your city councillor since 2022 has been the privilege of my life. Working with others, we’ve battled every day, to problem-solve issues big and small. Housing rights, environmental action and enforcement, parks, planning and licensing, championing public art, speaking up for independent business, sports development, crime and antisocial behaviour, transport, sustainability, and much more.
I’ve been able to speak up – freely (Greens are not controlled by party leaders) – for our communities, and offer a positive alternative to the stale and failing politics of the big old parties.
And I remain committed as ever to genuinely cooperative politics: not bossing communities around, but working with others for change. Together, we’ve achieved so much – but there’s so much still to do.
Get in touch anytime. Many thanks if you can support me on 7th May. And let’s transform our communities and our city for good.
FB: ed.carlisle / Insta: @edcleeds / Tiktok: @edcleeds
Roderic PARKER
Liberal Democrats
Apartment 4, Balmoral Place, 2 Bowman Lane, Leeds, LS10 1HQ
Sarata SAWO
Labour & Co-operative Party
22 Greenmount Street, Leeds, LS11 6DE
I am proud to be your Labour and Co-operative candidate for Hunslet and Riverside. As a lifelong resident, I love our communities deeply. I personally understand the challenges we face because I experience them right alongside you.
I am already working hard for our area. Currently, I serve as a school governor at Greenmount Primary and The Ruth Gorse Academy. I actively support local charities like The Leeds Community African Trust, and volunteer at the Beeston Festival, as well as the Greenmount and Beeston Hill Residents’ Associations. Having shadowed local Councillor Paul Wray for a year, I will be ready to help residents from day one if you put your faith in me.
My dad, who serves in the RAF, taught me the true value of public service. That is exactly why I want to give back to the place where I grew up. You want a strong Councillor focused entirely on improving where we collectively live, not someone distracted by national issues or gallivanting around the city.
I have lived here for my entire life and know exactly what we need. I will be completely focused on you, our communities, and tackling all of our shared local priorities.
Ayesha SHAMIM
Reform UK
Address in Leeds*
With over 24 years in banking at HSBC, Barclays, and Santander, I am a certified financial professional and single mother dedicated to serving Hunslet and Riverside. My career is built on trust and integrity, but my perspective was truly transformed by a life-changing cancer diagnosis and 15 surgeries. This journey of resilience led me to found D Dance Theatre CIC, supporting the elderly and chronically ill.
I am standing for Reform UK on 7th May 2026 to bring compassionate, practical leadership to South Leeds. I don’t just talk about policy; I deliver results. Recently, I’ve supported residents with PIP, Adult Social Care, and Attendance Allowance applications—including helping an 87-year-old resident secure vital financial support she didn’t know she was entitled to.
My work has been recognised by the Lord Mayor of Leeds and earned the “Spirited Fighter” award. This week alone, my son and I knocked on over 2,000 doors to discuss the issues that matter: social care, youth services, and local infrastructure. I am ready to use my financial expertise and personal strength to ensure our community navigates complex systems with dignity.
Paul THOMAS
Social Democratic Party
Address in Leeds*
Make Leeds an easy city for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to navigate. Many of the council’s projects seem to punish drivers and set different road users against each other, justified on achieving net zero targets. Spending money on good road maintenance works better for all residents.
We believe in a more equal society, free from prejudice. As such, we reject the current obsession with identity politics which divides society into hostile and opposing camps. By strengthening the common bonds between us we can build a stronger sense of community.
Councils need to uphold the provision of single sex spaces and services based on biological sex to provide women and girls with safety and dignity, and to protect the council from legal claims that may be brought now that the law is clear.
Make the council accountable to Leeds residents all the time not just at election time by creating more opportunities to hear what residents actually think in person, rather than through consultations and focus groups often outsourced to outside organisations with their own agendas.
Defend freedom of speech and thought as core British values.
*In England, if a candidate has requested not to make their home address public, the relevant electoral area in which their home address is situated (or country if their address is outside the UK) will be provided.