Kenilworth’s St John’s remains with the Conservatives following Graham Windybank’s victory. This means they still hold all eight seats in Kenilworth on the district council.
This by-election was called because of the death of James Whitby who died last month. He had been a district councillor since 1983 and also served on both the town council and the old KUDC.
Mr Windybank, who lives in Brookside Ave, has lived in the town for 27 years. He is a widower with two children. He has spent his life in advertising and is a director of a midland agency. As a member of the town council he was chairman of the open spaces working party and was involved in the work on a management plan for the Common.
Kenilworth District Councillors
8 Conservatives (K. Rawnsley, M. Coker, J. Cooke, B. Wooller, J. Wilson, T. Dalton, S. Harrison, G. Windybank)
Following the rout of 1987, the Liberal Democrats now have four new seats on the council. But the Tories still have a six seat majority.
The Liberal Democrats who got elected were husband and wife team of Haydn and Enys Thomas, who return to the council, with newcomers Helen Pavier and Pat Ryan. Jack Bastock kept his seat as well as winning back his seat on the District Council, which he lost eight years ago. He said “I’m very pleased. We can certainly have some good open debates now. The people of Kenilworth elected me, so I shall certainly be putting Kenilworth first”.
It was Abbey Ward that did all the damage for the Tories, where three of their high profile members failed to be re-elected. Kenneth Rawnsley, John Cooke and John Hatfield, being the casualties. Rawnsley and Cooke also lost their District Council seats.
Mr Rawnsley has dominated local politics since 1967, when he was first elected to the old KUDC. He was Mayor twice, and has been the leader of the District Council since it was created in 1973. The shocked 67 year-old retired BT sales superintentent, says he is already making plans for the future. “I believe I have great knowledge of local government, which I want to put to use. I hope to continue in public life”. He added; “The district and town were my life, I’ve been around a long time”. He believes there was a protest vote in Abbey ward against government issues such as the poll tax. Kenilworth people might also have been influenced by his decision to abstain from voting in the Eagle Lane planning application.
John Hatfield, after eight years on the council was also a disappointed man, he was due to become the next Mayor. But he said “I shall be back, they haven’t heard the last of me. I still have just as much influence, perhaps more. The council meetings are only a tenth of the work I did for the town, people will still come to me with their problems”. He is angry that national politics influenced voters. “We were the ones fighting against these cuts”. He also believes the long list of 17 names on the ballot paper confused many voters.
John Cooke, although he lost his town seat, is still a county councillor, where he will be taking over the chairmanship of the Social Services Committee in June. Mr Cooke, aged 33, said he would miss the town council where he started his political career back in 1979, but doesn’t take the result personally. He was Mayor in 1986/7.
Park Hill was dominated by the Tories. Tony Dalton and Spencer Harrison were re-elected plus two new faces to the council, Joanna Illingworth and Peter Durrant.
Kenilworth Town Councillors (16 seats)
11 Conservatives (T. Dalton, S. Harrison, P. Durrant, J. Illingworth, P. Cox, P. Edwards, R. Wooller, G. Windybank, F. Bunker, M. Weaver, M. Coker)
5 Liberal Democrats (J. Bastock, H. Thomas, E, Thomas, H. Pavier, P. Ryan)
Mayors
1991-92 Peggy Cox
1992-93 Spencer Harrison
1993-94 Jack Bastock
1994-95 Robert Wooller
Town Clerk – Susan Howell
Footnote – As viewers will see, no votes are shown against any of the candidates. This was due to the fact that the local press did not publish a full sets of results. Plus, none are available on the WDC website. If anyone has a full set of results, please contact us. Thank You.
In June 1876, a shocking incident occured at the Woodlands estate, when an infant was found dead in a closet. What made this tragic event even more intriguing, was that the Woodlands was occupied by the former rector of Ashow Church, The Hon. and Rev. Charles Samuel Twistleton.
The alleged perpetrator of the murder was housemaid of six years, Martha Busby, whose recent ‘condition’ and behaviour, had drawn the suspicion of the staff. Busby had left the premises on Tuesday 6th, telling them she had to go home to Culworth in Northamptonshire, to nurse her sick mother. On the afternoon of Friday 9th, the gardener, Stephen Hewens came across some blood in the garden. This led him to look inside the closet, where he discovered the body of a child, which had been strangled using an apron twisted around its neck.
Ashow Church (c1900) where Rev. Twistleton was Rector for more than three decades Photo courtesy of Warwickshire County Records Office ref. 352/10/6/ img 7272
Inquest – 10th June
The inquest took place on Saturday evening, one day after the discovery of the child’s body. Presiding was deputy coroner of Mid-Warwickshire, Dr. Daniel Wynter, the chosen foreman was Mr.Talbot.
Dr. Wynter addressed the jury, and said that the case that they have been called upon was of such a peculiar nature, that he intended to adjourn the court after the evidence of three witnesses was given. These being, the gardener (who found the body), the coachman and sergeant Ingram.
Dr. Wynter said the body had been bought to his surgery where he examining it. The body was then was taken to the Police Headquarters, where the Chief Constable Kinchant, asked that a post-mortem be undertaken. The results of which, will be announced at the adjourned inquest. The case might resolve itself, one of wilful murder, so consequently, a great deal of caution was required.
Housemaid at Woodlands, Martha Busby had left on Tuesday last week, and suspicions had been aroused as to her ‘state’. The case was no doubt one of consealment of birth or murder. In ascertaining the cause of death, several things had to be taken into consideration.
Evidence – Stephen Hewens
Witness, Stephen Hewens, gardener, in the employ of the Mr. Twistleton, stated that yesterday morning he had a conversation with housekeeper, Emma Perkins. She expressed very strong suspicions of the reason why Martha Busby had left. She asked me if I had seen any earth that had been moved around the closet, I told her no, I hadn’t. I then asked her if there was anything wrong? She replied, yes, there is something very wrong. At about 2 o’clock I needed to go to the closet. I looked down inside it and observed the body of a child. I struck a match and could see the body was on its side with the right arm extended. I went straight into the house and informed the female servants. I came back out and met the coachman, John Allen. I told him what I had seen so he went to the closet and pulled the body out with a pair of tongs. I went back into the house and got a key and locked the closet door. I saw some blood in the garden about six or seven yards from the closet, there appeared to have been a large quantity of blood but the rain had partly washed it away. The closet is surrounded by shrubs and it’s in a quite part of the garden. I never saw Busby anywhere near it.
Evidence – John Allen
Witness, John Allen, the coachman in the employ of Mr. Twistleton, told the court that when he returned from dinner at a little after 2 o’clock he met the gardener near the stable yard. He told me that a serious job had happened, he was very quiet at first and would not tell me what had happened but eventually told me he had found a body in the closet. I said I would go and get it out. I went into the kitchen and got some tongs and pulled the body out onto the carpet in the closet. I never noticed Martha Busby near the shrubs, the place is a private area.
Police Evidence
Witness, SergeantIngram, told the inquest that from the information he received, he went to the Woodlands, and in a closet he found the body of a female child. He took possesion of the body and examined it, finding bruises on the thighs and face. A piece of something like tape, which later was found to be the hem of an apron, was tied tightly around its neck, which had lacerated the skin. He also saw the mouth was stuffed with leaves and dirt. He then took the body to Dr. Wynter, and then afterwards to the police. This morning, in the company of Superintentent Lapworth, he made an examination of the area surrounding the closet, and found traces of blood in a corner on some withered leaves, and on some branches of ivy, which had been torn from the wall about a dozen yards away from that spot. He searched a chest of drawers in the room occupied by Martha Busby, and found a print dress and other articules wrapped up in it, it was covered in blood. He produced this evidence before the court. Her fellow servants, identified the dress as belonging to Martha Busby, which was worn by her on Monday.
At this point the deputy coroner adjourned the inquest.
Adjourned Inquest – Tuesday 13th June
The deputy coroner, opened the adjourned inquest by saying; “Before we proceed to take any steps in this matter, I wish to read to you a paragraph which I think is most improper and un-fair. It was reported in the Birmingham Daily Post on Monday”.
It reads – “Child Murder at Kenilworth- A shocking case of child murder has occured at Kenilworth. A domestic servant strangled a child to which she had given birth and secreted the body into an outhouse. The woman left her situation the following day for her home at Culworth, a village near Northampton, where she was apprehended by Superintendent Lapworth of Warwick police. She was removed to Kenilworth”.
Dr. Wynter said that, as far as this inquiry is concerned, this is not a court in which there is a charge against anybody at all. There is no one before you as a prisioner, and all that you are here for is to inquire into the cause of the death of the child. The article alludes to a certain person who has been taken into custody, with whom you, at present, have nothing to do with. It is a statement which is very wrong and improper to be in public print. I hope this will never happen again in the future.
Solicitor, Mr. Homer of Coventry observed the inquest on behalf of Martha Busby.
The evidence from the previous inquest was read out and additional evidence was given.
Post-Mortem Results
The post-mortem was carried out by Dr. Wynter, assisted by Dr. Clarke. The child had a ligature around its neck, and the mouth had been stuffed full of leaves as far as the windpipe. The umbilical cord had not been tied as it should have been, it was torn. Abrasions on the mouth indicated that force had been used. The evidence shows that the child had breathed, and there was extravasation of blood on the brain. If the child had not breathed, the bursting of the blood vessels under the scalp, could not have taken place.
Witness – Mary Heden
Mary Ann Heden, cook, in the employ of Mr. Twistleton, stated she last saw Busby wearing the print dress on Saturday week. She confirmed that Busby left on 5th June saying she was going home to Culworth, to care for her dying mother. Busby had lived at Woodlands for more that six years and was considered a respectable and hard working person. On 4th June Busby complained to her about feeling unwell. Before she left, witness said to her; “Martha I hope you will not come back again until you are confined”. Busby replied “What?”. Witness repeated her statement. Witness then told housemaid Emma Perkins what she had said to Busby, and later on entering the kitchen, Perkins said to her; “Now Martha, you are openly accused of what I have accused you of before, have I not accused you before?”. Busby replied, “yes, you have”. Witness then told Busby that she was near her ‘confinement’. Busby replied, “I just ain’t, I will go home and get Dr. Douglas to come to Mr. Twistleton and let you see I ain’t”. Busby continued; “I have got diarroea, it was the gooseberry pie that you gave me yesterday”. Witness said that Busby looked very pale, and sat in the kitchen for two hours and often complained of neulalgia. She was not right in her mind, and was so ‘flighty’, also doing strange things and seemed bewildered.
The deputy-coroner asked Mr. Homer if he wanted his client to be present in the room. He replied saying that he did not want her here, due to her bad health. The inquest was adjourned until Monday, and Superintendent Lapworth said that Busby would be detained in custody.
The Hon. and Rev. Charles Samuel Twistleton (1806-1890)
Charles Samuel Twistleton (pictured) was born in British administered Ceylon1 (now Sri-Lanka) to parents; The Hon. Thomas James Twistleton (1770-1824) and Anna Ashe (1770-1847), who was the daughter of Benjamin Ashe of the East India Company.
During his time in Ceylon, Charles’s father became the Archdeacon of Columbo from 1815 until his death in 1824.
The family eventually returned to England and Charles came to Kenilworth and moved into the Woodlands. With family connections to Lord Leigh, Charles became the rector of Ashow in 1831.
Busby Sent to the Assizes
Martha Busby was sent for trial on the 2nd August 2 at Warwick Assizes on charges of;
‘Having at Kenilworth on the 5th June 1876 been then and there delivered of a child,feloniously, wilfully, of her malice afore-thought, killed and murdered the said child”
There were two prosecuting lawyers: Mr. Coleman and Mr. Griffith. But only one for the defence, Mr. Buszard.
All the witnesses from the previous inquests were called upon to give evidence. It must be understood that with all the evidence provided and the gravity of the charges, it didn’t look good for Busby. Conviction of murder was a strong possibility. But as the trial progressed, things began to change.
Witness – Dr. Bourne
Thomas Skippington Bourne, surgeon of Kenilworth, told the court that he had visited the prisioner on February 24th, at the Woodlands. She was complaining of neuralgia, and also suffering from disorder of the digestive organs. He told the court that he had only examined her medically not physically and came to the conclusion that her symptoms were due to either pregnancy or a digestive disorder.
He said he saw the body of a newly-born child at the house of Mr. Twistleton on the 9th June. The mouth was crammed full of leaves. All around the mouth there was great discolouration, arising from extravasation of blood. There was a ligature tied very tightly around the neck but there was no discolourastion above or below the ligature. Witness was cross-examined by Mr. Buszard, Dr. Bourne said that in his opinion, the child was dead before the ligature was tied. So it could not have been the cause of death.
Witness – Dr. Wynter
Dr. Daniel Wynter, who conducted the post-mortem, with the assistance of Dr. Clarke, came to a different conclusion. He said, the lungs were a bright pink colour and floated in water. There was extreme congestion of the venus system of the brain, that would show, in his opinion, that there had been circulation for a few minutes. He was certainly of the opinion the child had breathed. He also believed death would have resulted from stuffing the mouth with leaves or from the ligature, but he was not in a position to say if the child had a seperate existence. He did not agree with Mr. Bourne, that the ligaure had nothing to do with the death. The flesh along the line of the ligature was livid. He said that the child had lived for a minute or a minute and a half.
Disagreement of Experts
With the medical experts being unable to agree on the cause of death, or indeed, if the infant had ever ‘lived’, the judge said that he would not proceed with murder or man-slaughter charges. Prosecution lawyer, Mr. Coleman recommended the prisioner be shown mercy, due to her previous good character, up until this affair.
The prisoner, on the advise of her counsel, consented to the minor count of ‘consealment of birth’, which his Lordship directed the jury to return.
The Sentence
The Judge in passing sentence, said technically the prisioner had escaped the charge of murder, but he could not think this was a case he could view with leniency. It was a very bad case – as bad a case he had ever tried. When the prisioner tied the string round the neck of her child, and crammed its mouth full of leaves, it was with the object of preventing it coming to maturity. Whether the act was technically murder or not, was immaterial. The sentence he was bound to pass upon her was that she be imprisioned, and kept to hard labour for 20 calender months.
The trial lasted for three and a half hours.
Twistleton’s Second Marriage
We have to remember that these events took place at Woodlands during the period between the death of Mr. Twistleton’s wife, Caroline in 1873, and his second marriage to Irish born Dorothea Touchet, in 1878.
When he married Dorothea she was just 26 years-old and he was 71. They were married on 24th January by licence at St Nicholas Church 3, not at Ashow where he had been rector for 34 years. On the marriage register at St Nicholas, their ages were recorded as being of ‘Full Age’.
Photo courtesy of the Warwickshire County Records Office Ref. PH 652/1/111 Img 7091
The Woodlands and The Will
In its prime, the Woodlands employed at least seven members of staff, including a butler, lady’s maid, housekeeper, housemaid, coachman, gardener and a groom.
Charles Twistleton died on the 13th September 1890, aged 84 4, and was buried with his first wife Caroline at Ashow. In his Will, he left a personal estate of over £77,000, equivalent to more than £6 million today 5. Dorothea continued to live at the Woodlands for a period of time, but eventually left Kenilworth. She died in 1933, at Chippenham, aged 81. It appears she never re-married.
Grave of Charles and Caroline Twistleton at Ashow
Busby Moves On
After her release from Warwick Gaol, Martha decided to make a fresh start and moved away from the midlands and settled in Devon. In the 1881 census, she is recorded as a domestic servant for a school mistress, in the Tormoham district of Torquay. The address where she was living and working was ironically called ‘Woodland Grove’. A name that must have sent a shiver down her spine.
By 1891, things were looking up for her, as she was now married to a George Endacott, who was a stonemason by trade, the family were living in Paignton. There were three children with the surname of Endacott on the census, aged between 10 and 15, so it doesn’t look likely that any of these were Martha’s children, as they were married in 1883. So, it would seem they were probably her husband’s children from his previous marriage.
Martha died in the first quarter of 1916, at Totnes, Paignton, aged 66. 6 Her husband had died four years earlier.
FIGHT BACK BY LIB-DEMS IN DISTRICT AND IN KENILWORTH
In Kenilworth, the Tories had a much tougher time than usual in this years election. However, in Park Hill and St. John’s they won five from five seats.
But in Abbey ward it was a different tale all together. 35-year veteran of local government, Ken Rawnsley was out, as too was John Cooke. Michael Coker looked to be on his way as well, but after a long and nervous recount against Lib-Dem Pat Ryan, he scraped in by 40 votes. New to the Tories in St. John’s is Pauline Edwards, who had been on the town council since 1983.
Leamington Town Hall was awash with jubilant Liberal Democrats, all centred around Kenilworth’s Jack Bastock, the main man in Mr Rawnsley’s downfall. Mr Bastock topped the poll in Abbey with 1985 votes, well clear of all his rivals. He now has his seat back on the council, which he lost eight years ago. He said; “At this moment I’m thrilled but very tired. It’s been a tough few hours and I need some time to gather my thoughts”. Haydn Thomas was also back on the council after being eight years in the wilderness.
Both Rawnsley and Cooke blamed their demise on the national trend and some local issues. An emotional Mr. Rawnsley said; “Kenilworth Abbey has always been a marginal ward and I believe the electorate have mistaken the district council from the county council, who are responsible for the cuts and capping”.
Soon after the election, Tony Dalton who topped the poll in Park Hill, took over the top job as leader of the District Council from Kenneth Rawnsley. But he still considered himself a ‘new boy’ after only four year’s service. He believed his fellow Tories chose him because he was fresh and would bring new ideas to the council. But he admitted, that he would have to learn on the job and quickly. He said that he spent all weekend making sure there was an equal spread of councillors from all areas on the committees. Previously, it had been far too bias towards Kenilworth councillors.
Overall however, it was not all bad news for the Conservatives, receiving 39% share of the vote. Their six seats in Kenilworth helped strongly towards their narrow three seat majority on the 45 seat council. 24 Tories,10 Labour, 8 Lib-Dems, 3 Whitnash Residents Association.
Kenilworth District Councillors
6 Conservative Party (M. Coker, P. Edwards, B. Wooller, G. Windybank, T. Dalton, S. Harrison)
A ‘casual vacancy’ had arisen due to the resignation in September of Marjorie Weaver, who had not attended any meetings since March. She had been elected to the council at the 1991 poll.
67 year-old, Richard Dickinson (pictured) of Butler Close, was delighted at the result and said he was looking forward to working with all residents, regardless of their political views. A former employee of the Metropolitan Police for 25-years, said he was eager to tackle local issues, especially crime in the town. He is presently a governor at Kenilworth School and was a former executive at Jaguar cars.
Photo courtesy of the Kenilworth Weekly News
Where’s My Polling Card?
Complaints came in from the public regarding polling cards, which they said had not been posted through their letterboxes. But Michael Coker, pointed out that in June 1987, the town council decided not to fund polling cards for ‘casual vacancy’ positions. But not many electors were aware of this policy. However, electors do not need a polling card to cast their vote, just their name and address, is sufficent.
The Liberal Democrats were celebrating after seizing control of the council. The Tories had gone into the election with a 11-5 majority but this was turned around completley. One of the newly elected councillors, Doug Golby, is the former editor of the Kenilworth Weekly News – he is now the news himself! He said; “There has been a lot of dismay and disgust on the doorstep and national issues have had a lot to do with this. It has been a case of Middle England betrayed”.
In Abbey ward the Lib-Dems took all six seats, with Jack Bastock easily topping the poll. Tory stalwart Michael Coker, who had been on the council since 1983, lost his seat by 33 votes. The Lib-Dems also had a clean-sweep in Park Hill where present tory councillors, Dalton, Harrison, Durrant and Joanna Illingworth were all un-seated. They were replaced by Golby, Shilton, Rawson and Harrison.
New to the council is Dave Shilton, who said “We have a good team in Park Hill and look forward to working hard to look after people in the ward. We are very grateful to the voters for giving us the chance to represent them”.
But in St. John’s the colour was all blue, with the five retiring Tories being re-elected, and were joined by new member Paul Spillman. He replaced Richard Dickinson, who did not seek re-election as he is moving to Sussex. He had been elected to the council at the November 1993 by-election.
Long standing Tory councillor Spencer Harrision lost his town seat but retained his place at the district council, but said he was very disappointed. “But it was a democratic result and we can’t complain about that”. Mr Harrison had been the last remaining councillor to have served on the old KUDC, which existed until 1974.
Kenilworth Town Councillors
10 Liberal Democrats (D. Shilton, J. Rawson, M. Harrison, D. Golby, J. Bastock, H. Thomas, E. Thomas, P. Ryan, H. Pavier, J. Gillman)
6 Conservatives (P. Edwards, B. Wooller, G. Windybank, P. Cox, F. Bunker, P. Spillman)
After 18 months in the political wilderness, jubilant Tory, Michael Coker was back on the council benches. A poll of 847 votes gave him a comfortable victory by 335 over Lib-Dem candidate, Graham Thomas.
The by-election was called due to the death of Enys Thomas (mother of candidate, Graham Thomas and wife of Cllr Haydn Thomas) who died at Warwick Hospital in May following a short illness. She had been taken ill during a council meeting on 25th April. She had been on the town council since 1991.
Graham Thomas said; “I am not too downhearted, I did my best and was an improvement on last time. It was a shame the turnout was low but at least between us, Margi Levy and I managed to poll more votes than the winner”.
Mrs Levy, of Lunn Ave, who is the secretary of the Kenilworth & Stoneleign Labour Party was also not too despondent about the result. She was pleased with all the support she had received and thanked all the people who voted for her. She was critical of the council’s decision not to issue polling cards to electors, many believed they couldn’t vote without one. She also denounced the campaigns run by both the Conservatives and the Lib-Dems, saying they were very negative. They seemed to just focus on missed opportunities in the past.
Before the election, a squabble broke-out over the ‘Tory in Touch’ leaflets that had been distributed around the ward. The disagreement was about who was telling the truth to the voters. Lib-Dem group leader, Haydn Thomas said it was full of distortion and half-truths. If this is what is being sent out for a town council election, what will it be like for a general election?Mr. Coker reacted by saying that he stood by the leaflet. There is a checklist of Liberal Democrat promises, and what we are saying is that they have not carried out any of them. People will be the judge of that.
Seven polling stations were used for this election: Priors Field School, Clinton School, Parochial Hall, Baptist Church, Methodist Church, the Library and one at Burton Green.
Kenilworth Town Councillors
9 Liberal Democrats (D. Shilton, J. Rawson, M. Harrison, D. Golby, J. Bastock, H. Thomas, P. Ryan, H. Pavier, J. Gillman)
7 Conservatives (M. Coker, P. Edwards, B. Wooller, G. Windybank, P. Cox, F. Bunker, P. Spillman)
The biggest shock of the election was in Park Hill, where former district council leader, Tony Dalton lost his seat, finishing fifth out of six candidates. If that wasn’t enough, he also lost his town council seat. Mr Dalton was of course disappointed by the results but he had expected it. He said; “I have been on the district council for eight years and I’m proud of what I have achieved but I’ll be back”. New to the district council is Lib-Dem, Dave Shilton, who topped the poll with 665 votes. Spencer Harrison once again retained his seat for the Tories, which he had first gained at a by-election in 1977.
In Abbey ward, Jack Bastock and Haydn Thomas easily retained their seats and were joined by fellow Lib-Dem, the rejuvenated Pat Ryan, who overcame sitting Tory member Michael Coker by 156 votes. Mr Coker had been on the district council since 1976, said that he had enjoyed every minute of it, but with the national situation, it’s a fair result. I’ve succeeded in the five previous elections on the strength of the government but now I’ve gone out on the strength of it. At least my garden will benefit from the result, he joked!
At St. John’s it was a clean sweep for the Conservatives with all their three candidates finishing well ahead of the field. Although knowhere near gaining a seat, the Labour party had a far better poll than is normally the case. Each candidate polled over 1,100 votes, up by around 300 from the 1991 election. It was a ward they had specifically targeted, spokesman for the group, Dave Peggs, said he was very pleased with the outcome. But St. John’s continues to be a graveyard for the Liberal Democrats and the Liberals/Alliance before that. Not one of their candidates has ever been elected there since the district council elections began in 1973.
The outcome of the election produced no overall majority.
This by-election was automatically called due to Lib-Dem councillor, Jill Wane, not attending any meetings in six months. But the Lib-Dems hung onto the seat by the skin of their teeth, by just 13 votes. It was the one of the closest fought elections in a long time.
Ann Blacklock was the victorious candidate which will be her first time on the town council. She said of the count; “It was very exciting, we knew it was going to be close and had a good chance”. We knew we had support for Liberal Democrats policies but we did not know if they would turnout on the day.
Defeated Tory candidate, Andrea Wooller, said that there had been no tears and she had enjoyed the campaign. I have no hard feelings and I phyically could not have done anymore. I did my best. However, she is looking forward to fighting in Abbey Ward again, in next year’s election.
Only about a third of all the registered electors bothered to vote, which is typical of many by-elections, especially at this time of the year.
It was vital the Liberal Democrats retained their seat. If the Tories had have been successful, the council would have been locked on 8 seats-a-piece. This would have made an interesting situation at Southbank Road. As it turned out the LIb-Dems retained their slender two seat majority – but it would only last a few months.
Kenilworth Town Councillors
9 Liberal Democrats (A. Blacklock, D. Shilton, J. Rawson, H. Harrison, D. Golby, J. Bastock, H. Thomas, P. Ryan, H. Pavier)
7 Conservative Party (M. Coker, P. Edwards, B. Wooller, G. Windybank, P. Cox, F. Bunker, P. Spillman)
The Conservatives gained two seats but that was enough for them to overturn the 9-7 Lib-Dem majority into a 9-7 majority in their favour. When the Lib-Dems took control four years ago, they had a 10-6 majority. It was the first time since the inception of the Town Council 25 years ago that the Tories did not have control. But by the end of the term, that majority had dropped to only two, this was due to them losing one seat in a by-election, but they did hold onto a seat in another by-election, so preserving the status quo.
The two crucial gains for the Tories came in Abbey and Park Hill wards.
Graham Windybank was delighted at being re-elected to Park Hill following his switch from St John’s. He was also hoping that Spencer or Daphne Harrison would be elected but with the popularity of Dave Shilton and the other Lib-Dems, his chances along with the other Tories didn’t seem that high. But he managed to push out sitting Lib-Dem councillor Mary Harrison, the only candidate who was seeking re-elected not to get back in.
The Tories were very happy to see the return of John Hatfield, who had lost his seat in the 1995 poll. New to the Tory ranks are Tim Porter and Alan Cockburn, who were standing for the first time. Both were easily returned at St John’s, being well clear of their rivals. The Tory group are likely to take up all the chairmanships of the town committees.
Liberal Democrats group leader, Haydn Thomas, will lose his position as leader of the council, following the Tory victory. That will now be taken-up by Mr Coker. Mr Thomas was bitterly disappointed in the final results, which gave the Tories power at Southbank Road. But, he was glad they got most of their councillors re-elected but he was sad that they had lost control.
Lost Nomination Forms………
One other issue that angered Cllr Thomas was the ‘lost’ nomination forms of former Mayor, Pat Ryan (pictured), who was due to stand in Abbey ward. Election officers said they never received his papers, so he won’t be on the ballot paper. But as far as Mr Ryan was concerned he had filled in the forms correctly and that was the end of the matter. There is nothing that could be done except challenge it in court, Mr Ryan said he would be taking legal advice. Gillian Friar, elections officer at Warwick District Council, said extra checks had been made at Victoria Chambers and was satisfied the paperwork was not there.
She added, “We have not received his nomination. There is nothing the returning officer can do to let Mr Ryan stand as a candidate for the town election”. Mr Thomas, said “I took Pat’s papers along with mine and all the others to the election offices the Tuesday after Easter, and they were very busy. The officers say they cannot find Pat’s nomination forms, I am not sure what we can do, I am gutted at the news. I have searched high and low and have doubled checked that I have not left them at home”.
The lost forms meant that the Lib-Dems could only field five candidates in Abbey ward where six seats were available. Many believed that if Pat Ryan had stood he would have been elected.
Labour Woes
The Labour group had a bad day with not one of their eight candidates getting anywhere near elected. However, all their candidates in St John’s beat all five Lib-Dems. One of them, David Peggs said that he was disappointed that the voters of Kenilworth seemed to be out of touch with the rest of the district. “Now that the Tories are in power we are going to see even more griping about the district and very little positive action”
In the country, Tony Blair’s ‘New Labour’ government had been in power for the past two years. But the socalist vote in Kenilworth was still very low. Even with the town having a Labour MP, Andy King, this did not help the Labour group getting anywhere near winning seat in the town. Indeed, the last Labour candidate to be elected to the town council was Bill Wozencroft in 1979, but lost his seat in the 1983.
Polling stations were open from 8am to 9pm.
Kenilworth Town Councillors
9 Conservatives (M. Coker, A. Cockburn, P. Edwards, B. Wooller, F. Bunker, P. Spillman, T. Porter, G. Windybank, J. Hatfield)
7 Liberal Democrats (D. Shilton, D. Golby, J. Rawson, J. Bastock, H. Thomas, A. Blacklock, H. Pavier)
