After Labour's surprise win of Hampstead Town in May, the polls will open once again on July 7 for the coveted seat.

Paper candidate Adrian Cohen resigned less than three weeks into his time as a councillor after his shock win on May 6.

Standing in the by-election is Linda Chung, who served six years as a Lib Dem in Hampstead Town from 2008.

Ham & High: Linda Chung. Picture: Polly Hancock.Linda Chung. Picture: Polly Hancock. (Image: Archant)

"I've never gone away from working continuously and contributing to the community. I'm active in all the resident and community groups and very active in the neighbourhood police, the Met and the GLA," she said.

She said a priority is conserving the village's heritage, such as the Chalybeate Well in Well Walk. Linda was instrumental in the conservation of the Hampstead War Memorial at Whitestone Pond.

"I'm also very keen to make local government more transparent and to engage the public hence my wish to have public forums so that residents have community input," she said.

"It's important that Hampstead has a voice, because it's unhealthy to have one party totally dominate a council because you don't have an efficient voice of scrutiny and challenge of things that aren't right.

"I'll work across party to achieve what we all want. Good keywork housing, good amenities for our residents, climate change, tackling pollution, there's so much to do and I want to take part in that and I want to involve residents too."

Standing for the Conservatives is Alexandria (Alex) Andrews, who moved to Hampstead four decades ago from Scotland.

She said she has "led campaigns across NW3 for green spaces and against inappropriate development" and wants to "fight for residents and against Camden imposing its one-size-fits-all approach on Hampstead".

"I will work with Stephen to fight passionately to preserve Hampstead’s character, deliver cleaner and safer streets, and give residents a voice," she said.

“I heard time and again the message that the government needed to change, and that message was heard loud and clear in May.

"[Cllr Stephen Stark] and I will make a seamless, energetic team entirely focused on the job of championing Hampstead and holding the Labour-run council to account.”

Ham & High: Adrian Cohen with fellow Labour candidate Alexandra Sufit at the Camden election countAdrian Cohen with fellow Labour candidate Alexandra Sufit at the Camden election count (Image: Nathalie Raffray)

Alexandra (Alex) Sufit, came third in May's election and will stand again for Labour saying she had "a sense of deja vu".

"I stood alongside Adrian and I came a very close third. I was only handful of votes behind with my name last on the ballot, so as far as I'm concerned, make no mistake, Hampstead voted Labour."

"Born and raised NW3", she said it would be "an honour to give my time and energy to making sure Hampstead thrives".

Passionate about social mobility and fairness, the secretary of Hampstead & Kilburn's CLP said her key priority was "giving Hampstead a voice".

"We want to be heard and that's what I believe I can do for the community," she said.

"It's been a difficult time with the pandemic. There was a moment on the high street when it looked like a ghost town and Hampstead's starting to thrive again so it's important we don't forget local businesses and for residents we want clean air and a sense of community to be returned."

She said the flash floods, which she was also a victim of, and antisocial behaviour were also priorities.

She said she believes the by-election is a "two horse race" with the Conservatives.

Ham & High: Alex Sufit is standing again for Hampstead TownAlex Sufit is standing again for Hampstead Town (Image: Alex Sufit)

"Stephen Stark is a popular guy but this is a real opportunity to back Labour. I think we can do this again," she said.

"There's going to be a short and intense campaign but I truly believe we can paint Hampstead Town red."

The Green Party has not yet announced whether it will field a candidate.