York Conservative Association has announced its candidate for the Heworth by-election on 15th January 2026 will be 34 year old mum of three and SEND teaching assistant Emma Dolben. Emma lives in the ward and has done for 12 years and is a passionate campaigner for her local community.
Emma said:
I am delighted to be selected as the Conservative candidate in this crucial by-election. Labour in York have badly let the city down in so many ways with an arrogant approach and series of broken promises. They stood on a manifesto of freezing council tax and yet have increased it by the maximum allowed each year and they pledged to provide free meals for all primary school children but have managed just trials in a small number of schools. As someone local in the ward I know the issues people are facing and would put dealing with anti social behaviour from a troublesome minority of teenagers as one of the top issues. We need to remove the Labour majority on City of York Council and get a council that focuses on frontline services again rather than vanity project.
Conservative Group Leader Cllr Chris Steward said:
I have no doubt that Emma will be a great councillor for Heworth and a strong voice for achieving a fair deal for the area. She is an excellent no nonsense Yorkshire woman with a strong family and career background which make her the ideal sort of real person that understands the real issues of residents.
