The leader of Somerset’s newest council could be unseated by one of his predecessors in the local elections.

Voters in the former Taunton Deane and West Somerset areas will go to the polls on Thursday, May 2, to elect 59 people to the new Somerset West and Taunton Council.

Boundary changes as a result of the new authority coming about means that the council’s current leader – Conservative candidate John Williams – will battle it out against Liberal Democrat candidate Ross Henley, who served as Taunton Deane leader in the late-2000s.

The new Hatch and Blackdown ward – formed from Mr Henley’s Blackdown ward and Mr Williams’ Neroche ward – is set to be one of the key battlegrounds of the election, with both parties confident of coming out on top.

While he could unseat the man he dubbed ‘the King of Somerset West and Taunton’, Mr Henley says he has no appetite to take the crown himself, or hold a position on any new Lib Dem executive.

He said: “I’m a community-based councillor and my reason for standing is that I want to support the community where I live. I’m not interested in anything else – I’ve done that already.

“I’m pleased that lots of people around here say they vote for me on a personal level.”

Mr Williams will remain leader of the Conservative group until the election, after which the Conservative members who are elected will choose a new leader from within their ranks.

Roger Habgood, who is standing for the party in the Monument ward, publicly announced on April 3 that he would be putting himself forward to lead the Conservatives if he won his seat.

Colin Croad will be standing for the Labour party in the Hatch & Blackdown ward.

The polls will be open from 7am to 10pm on May 2, with the results being announced early on the morning of May 3.

DANIEL MUMBY

Local democracy reporter