Southend Council have revealed the candidates that could take control of Milton following the death of the ward’s former councillor earlier this year.

The by-election will be held in the ward on March 21 and see four candidates hoping to win the position that Labour Councillor Julian Ware-Lane had held.

Among them is Stephen George who will be running as a Labour candidate.

He has previously been a councillor for the Milton and the Kursaal ward but is also known for the work of his father Colin George who spent 40 years as general secretary of Southend Citizens Advice Bureau and was chair of Southend Hospital Charity.

Running for the Conservatives will be Garry Lowen, a Southend businessman who has been the driving force behind the Southend Carnival and is co-owner of the Gleneagles Guest House in Clifftown Parade.

Carol White will be the candidate for the Liberal Democrats and hopes to encourage residents to support a people’s vote on the final Brexit deal.

Perhaps the most controversial of the candidates is James Quail who is standing as a member of the For Britain Movement, a far-right party that broke away from UKIP in 2017.

There are limited details about Mr Quail’s political background but his party has been supported by Tommy Robinson, former leader of the English Defence League and been described as “anti-Islam”. The party’s website states that they want to see a complete withdrawal from the European Union and to “end the Islamisation of the UK”.

Earlier this month, independent councillors said they would not be in the running as a tribute to Mr Ware-Lane. Independent Councillor Ron Woodley said it was “only right” that the ward keeps a Labour councillor.