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Votersin Riverside will go to the polls on Wednesday in a Cardiff council by-election.

There are seven candidates standing for the seat, vacated after the resignation of Labour’s Cecilia Love.

The candidates are; Steffan Bateman (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition); Ruksana Begum (Plaid); Gareth Bennett (UKIP); Sean Driscoll (Conservatives); Gwilym Owen (Lib Dems); Hannah Pudner (Green Party) and Caro Wild (Labour).

Steffan Bateman, 21, is standing for TUSC

“I’m standing to oppose cuts and attacks on working people and whatever the result I’ll keep campaigning on these issues,” he said.

“I’m standing as a socialist candidate to oppose a system that puts profit before people’s needs.

“There is a desperate need for councils to start to stand up to austerity, councillors should be using their positions to mobilise a movement against cuts to services and job losses, rather than rolling over to the Tories in Westminster.”

Plaid Cymru’s Ruksana Begum is campaigning against “fat cat pay”

Plaid put forward a motion at last month’s council election calling for a cap of £100,000 on salaries. That motion was voted down.

She said: “Cutting pay at the top to a still huge £100,000 a year would have saved the city £1.8m per year. Labour made a political choice to support pay packages up to £230,000 a year and this will now be paid for by closing youth, day and play centres.”

She also wants to stop Cowbridge Road East becoming one-way and to crack down on fly-tipping.

Conservative candidate greengrocer is Sean Driscoll, 58

He said his family were raised in Riverside, adding: “I have had a connection to the area since being a youngster and with Labour again calling another by election, I think it’s an opportunity for me to represent the people I grew up with.

He said many of the issues coming up on the doorsteps are the same he hears in his shop.

“They want their children to go to a decent school and get a decent education and fulfil their full potential they want to live in a neighbourhood that’s safe.

“People want a council that works for them,” he said.

Gwilym Owen is standing for the Lib Dems

He has lived in Riverside since 2006 after moving to Cardiff to study at the university.

He said: “The issues I’m most passionate about include the general cleanliness and attractiveness of the ward, a reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour and improving road safety, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists.

“When the Liberal Democrats took power from Labour, they introduced recycling across the whole of the city for the first time, increasing recycling levels to 54%. Since Labour have been in power, recycling levels have been slipping as they continue to make expensive and ineffective changes to the city’s rubbish collection regime.”

Green Party candidate is Hannah Pudner

She said she wants to tackle council cuts in two ways – firstly by fighting the cuts themselves and also limiting the impact of them.

“I’m all for empowering the local community, but community groups can’t be set up to fail,” she added.

She said the biggest issues on the doorsteps are that residents don’t feel like their concerns are being listened to by the council and road safety.

Coming across a road accident on Ninian Park Road seconds after a child was hit spurred her into action.

That accident came after the death of a schoolboy in an earlier incident.

“It took a child to die for something to be done. I wonder if it would have taken that long in another area of the city,” she said.

Bins are a key issue in the ward.

“Residents weren’t talked to and weren’t listened to, that’s where the council went wrong,” Ms Pudner added.

Labour’s candidate is Caro Wild

Caro is campaigning to take over the seat vacated by a party colleague.

He describes himself as a race-discrimination campaigner, and during his campaign has met with members of the Bangladeshi community to discuss the need for more local facilities and how to prevent radicalisation of young people.

He hopes to join the ward’s two other Labour councillors, Darren Williams and Iona Gordon, in fighting for a 20mph speed limit on Wyndham Crescent, Romilly Crescent and Neville Street.

Riverside-born Gareth Bennett, 46, would become the first UKIP councillor on the council if elected

He has previously written three books on Cardiff City FC and and a book of local history called The Little Book of Cardiff.

He said: "This council has stolen the bus station and sold it to private developers, and is also stealing money from motorists every day with sneaky cameras and exorbitant parking charges. They are, in my opinion, no better than a bunch of thieves.

"In addition to that, they are completely inept. They have closed two recycling depots, even while the city is threatened with being fined over EU recycling targets.

(Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)

"They threatened dozens of local groups with closure last spring, then discovered they actually had the money to carry on funding them after all.

"A troupe of monkeys could do the job of running this city better than Phil Bale and his pals.

"Unlike the other main parties, Ukip wants firm control on the future expansion of Cardiff.

"The other parties are all falling over themselves to get out the welcome mat for dubious so-called refugees. Where will all these people live, and what about the local residents who have been waiting to be housed for years?

"The refugee system is not fit for purpose, and Cardiff is already expanding by building more and more homes in the green belt. This needs to stop, or we will end up with a major road through Poncanna Fields, and new housing estates either side of it.

"The people of Cardiff should no longer tolerate local politicians who pay lip service to welcoming refugees and immigrants, and then oppose housing developments in their own ward."