Tag Archives: wokingham

Lib Dems gain control of Wokingham

Just a year ago we won the Parliamentary seat of Wokingham with a huge swing. And today, as a result of a Council by-election, we have gained overall control of Wokingham Borough Council.

By the way, don’t confuse Wokingham in Berkshire with Woking in Surrey, which we also control.

The received wisdom was that Lib Dems had to win a Council before they could hope to win a constituency, but now we are seeing the reverse effect. The key thing is that a winning campaign at either level, if carried out with care and foresight, can build local capacity which can be …

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The smiles get even bigger

We are now on a net increase of 409 councillors, and the Conservatives have topped their worst case scenario of 1000 losses.

In Surrey Heath – an archetypal Blue Wall area straddling the Thames – we have taken control with 14 new seats coming to us, giving us 21 out of 35. That will give Michael Gove a huge headache tonight as it pretty much covers his constituency of the same name.

Wedged between Lib Dem Mole Valley and Chichester lies Horsham, newly turned bright gold with an increase of 15 councillors.

And we have taken control in Guildford, although some results are still pending.

Home Counties West Berkshire has also fallen into our laps with another superb net gain of 13 councillors. Us 29, them 14 is the score. Next door is South Oxfordshire which has also come to us – we can be sure of that even though there are still 6 seats to declare.

We are also now the largest party in nearby Wokingham, but not quite enough to take control directly.

We have now gained 12 Councils, and held many more. So far we have not lost any.

We are still awaiting the result of the Mayoral election in Bedford, which Dave Hodgson is defending.

And quick look at the BBC’s electoral map reveals that almost the entire bottom right hand corner of England is now under No Overall Control. Many of those Councils were previously held by Conservatives.

The Blue Wall is beginning to look like a Yellow Wall.

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Conservative splits as two stand against John Redwood

Not a happy time for the Conservatives in Wokingham where not one but two party members are standing as independent candidates against John Redwood.

I’d already highlighted how (ex) Conservative Town Councillor Robin Smith was standing against John Redwood (see more details in the Reading Chronicle).

As pointed out in the comments, there is in fact a second Conservative running against John Redwood – Mark Ashwell, who has criticised John Redwood for being too right wing.

The Lib Dem candidate is Prue Bray.

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Looks like a Tory councillor is standing against John Redwood

As far as I’ve been able to find our, Cllr Robin Smith (Conservative) is the same as Robin Smith, Independent Parliamentary candidate in Wokingham, where the Conservative candidate is one John Redwood. Curious.

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Recent Comments

  • Ben Wood
    It is such sad news. I was lucky to get to know Micheal over the last few years (working on a book project for the John Stuart Mill Institute). He reaffirmed fo...
  • Ed Sanderson
    Very sad news. I remember many a lively evening of erudite discussion in Leeds - Michael was a true intellect - and a genuinely warm soul. My condolences to his...
  • Jack
    This is bang on. What is the point of a liberal party that won't stand up for rights, especially when both government and opposition want to make hay out of div...
  • Matt (Bristol)
    I totally understand this is a key issue for many Lib Dems (and I'm not speaking for Lib Dems myself, I'm an ex-member). But I don't understand how this 'vangua...
  • John Grout
    Fully agree with all of this. I've seen a few MPs' Pride Month posts reference Section 28 abolition and Same-Sex Marriage - we need to start talking about this...