Doncaster elections 2025: Voters in Edlington have concerns over immigration

The Local Democracy Reporting Service visited the town before voters head to the polls and asked what the key local issues were for people living there.

Anne, Julie and James all told the LDRS they were concerned about immigration and the number of people risking their lives to cross the English Channel illegally.

The Mayor of Doncaster does not have any powers on immigration, but all three insisted that was a primary concern of theirs.

Asked who they would be voting for, Anne, aged 59, said there were “too many options”, but 57-year-old James said his decision “was Labour but now it’s between Labour and Reform”.

He said he trusted Labour’s Ros Jones the most to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Anne said she would be “swinging to Labour” at the moment.

Julie, 60, said she was considering Nick Fletcher. She said he had been “coming round all the businesses” in Edlington.

Edlington Lane resident, Janice, 69, said she would not be voting.

“They don’t do any good,” she said to the LDRS.

When asked if there was anything she’d like the next mayor to address, she said: “They won’t give us any traffic lights [on Edlington Lane].

“It’d help because it’s a busy road. This road is very unsafe. They need to give us a crossing.”

She explained that she even asked the City of Doncaster Council for speed bumps along the road, but was told it wasn’t possible due to Edlington Lane being a “bus route”.

61-year-old Dennis said he had voted, but declined to share who he had cast his vote for and why.

However, he did say the next mayor needed to address the state of Doncaster’s roads.

He said: “These potholes for one. They are terrible. We pay road tax and there’s nothing being done about these potholes.”

There are 12 candidates running to be the Mayor of Doncaster. They include:

• Ros Jones, Labour
• Nick Fletcher, Conservative
• Alexander Jones, Reform UK
• Julie Buckley, Green Party
• Andrew Walmsley, Yorkshire Party
• Richie Vallance, Independent
• Jamil Ahsan, Workers Party of Britain
• Doug Wright, Health and Social Care Party
• Mihai Melenciuc, Liberal Democrats
• Frank Calladine, British Democrats
• Andy Hiles, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
• David Bettney, Social Democratic Party