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)
Newcomer to the town council is Richard Davies after securing a heavy majority over Labour’s Jan Ford of 460. But the major talking point was the turnout of just 24%. Town clerk, Susan Howell, described it as “Very Disappointing”.
The by-election came about due to the retirement of veteran Tory, Bob Wooller, who was moving to Devon. He first stood in a town election in 1979 but was unsuccessful. But his luck changed in 1982 when he won a by-election at St. John’s, and had remained on the council ever since. In the 1983 election, he polled a massive 2,046 votes, the largest in the whole election.
Polling Card Issues
Election officials at the district council responded to criticism by some residents who said they did not receive polling cards. One elector was even told she could vote at Castle Farm recreation ground only to find there was no polling station there. The district council sent out around 7,000 polling cards to the ward from 1st to 5th November. Election officer, Gillian Friar, said that as far as we are aware, all our canvassers posted the cards on time to the electors and to the correct addresses. “The cards give details of where the polling stations are located, opening hours and name of candidates”. But electors can vote without them, all they need to do is give their name and address to the polling staff, and as long as they are on the electorial roll, there isn’t a problem.
Three of the polling stations used in the elcection were: Kenilworth School, Castle Sixth Form and St. John’s church hall.
The count took place at the council house in Southbank Road, and the results were declared at around 10pm, one hour after the polls closed.
Kenilworth Town Councillors
9 Conservatives (M. Coker, A. Cockburn, P. Edwards, R. Davies, 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)
There was a bit of a shake-up in this year’s election, not only in the overall result but the restructuring of the wards. One extra seat was allocated to the town, which now has a total of 17 members. Abbey ward was down to five seats, while Park Hill was increased from four to six. St John’s remained the same on 6 seats.
At the last poll in 1999, the Conservatives had a slendor majority of just two (9-7), but that was vastly increased to a 12-5 majority. New to the Tory ranks are George Illingworth, Dominic Coker, Richard Davies, Norman Vincent, Ursula Durrant and veteran, Spencer Harrision. He has admitted that he would have preferred a younger person to stand in his place. He said that he would be quite happy to have become a ‘has-been’. But we can’t get any 40 year-olds to stand, local government loses out by not having young councillors, who are willing and able to give up their time. Mr Harrision refuses to reveal his age but he confesses being at Leamington Town Hall when the votes were being counted, 72 years-ago!
The Liberal Democrats were slowly fading away in Kenilworth, being down to only four members. The ‘big guns’ of Jack Bastock, Haydn Thomas and Helen Pavier, did not stand for re-election and Judith Rawson, was un-successful in St. John’s. However, Ann Blacklock topped the poll in Abbey with 1121 and Dave Shilton was well clear in Park Hill with 1161. Former Kenilworth Weekly News editor, Doug Golby was also returned for the third time since 1995. Stalwart Pat Ryan, was back on the council after the lost nomination papers fiasco of 1999, came fourth in Abbey ward.
Kenilworth Regeneration Shock
The biggest shock of the election was Independent candidate, Trevor Martin, who stood on a ticket of ‘Kenilworth Regeneration’, coming third in St John’s with 1157 votes . Mr Martin, of Bullimore Grove, did not expect to be elected and it was not only a shock to himself but to many others as well. He admitted that his legs were a bit wobbly when he heard the results come through. He was the first ever Independent candidate to be elected to the town council. The last time any Independent sat in Kenilworth was way back in 1964, when it was the old KUDC.
During his campaign, Mr. Martin wasted several days taking down posters that were later found to be legal. He was informed that his leaflets that he had placed in shop windows were not allowed, as ‘fly-posting’ was an offence. It later transpired that it was legal for him to display his posters in shop windows. Gillian Friar, from the election office at Warwick District Council said; “The Electoral Commission said that it was not infact an offence, because the businesses were private premises and he had asked personally to display the leaflets”. She added; “You can’t fly-post and the other parties thought this was unfair, but the commission said Mr. Martin wasn’t breaking any rules”.
But Mr. Martin’s initial elation then turned to frustration after only one council meeting. The meeting was only to decide on planning applications and who serves on the various committees. Mr. Martin left the meeting feeling very angry and disappointed. He believes that procedure and red-tape is already preventing him from starting work on the regeneration of Kenilworth town centre.
From Labour to the Elderly
One other Independent who stood in St John’s was Chris Edgerton, a former Abbey High school pupil, who ran on a ticket of ’24/7 Care for The Elderly’. This was due to him becoming a full-time carer for his mother and all the issues that come along with it. He is a familar name in Kenilworth town elections, normally as a Labour candidate. But he had resigned his membership in protest of the Iraq war. He said “Many people have left the Labour party but its difficult to say how I would have done if I was still a member”.
The Green’s Arrive in Kenilworth
The Green Party stood for the very first time in a Town Council election with two candidates, Pippa Austin and Caryll Green, but both came near the bottom of the pile in St John’s. But who knows what the future may bring for the party. Maybe in 20 years time, they could even be in control of the council?
Kenilworth Town Councillors
12 Conservatives (M. Coker, D. Coker, A. Cockburn, S. Harrison, F. Bunker, P. Edwards, R. Davies, N. Vincent, G. Windybank, U. Durrant, J. Hatfield, G. Illingworth)
4 Liberal Democrats (P. Ryan, A. Blacklock, D. Shilton, D. Golby)
In Kenilworth it finished all square between the Tories and Lib-Dems, locked on four seats a piece, just as four years ago.
Michael Coker returned after four years away on gardening leave (apparently), regained his seat in Abbey ward. Lib-Dem stalwart, Jack Bastock who topped the ward in 1995, did not seek re-election but was elected to the town council. Another Lib-Dem, Pat Ryan was un-seated, coming only sixth, but did get a strong vote of 1012.
The Tories lost veteran Spencer Harrison in Park Hill along with Graham Windybank, who’s switch from St. John’s to Park Hill, didn’t do him any favours. Both seats being taken by Lib-Dem pair, Dave Shilton and Doug Golby. But the Conservatives did take some comfort in taking all three seats in St. John’s.
But in the district it was a different tale all together. The Conservatives lost three seats, Labour lost one, Lib-Dems gained two and the Independents also gained two . In Leamington the Tories have no seats at all.
The 45 seat council now consists of: Labour 16, Liberal Democrats 13, Conservatives 10, Whitnash Residents Association 3, Independents 3. NO OVERALL CONTROL.
Kenilworth District Councillors
4 Liberal Democrats (D. Shilton, D. Golby, H. Pavier, H. Thomas)
4 Conservative Party (M. Coker, A. Cockburn, P. Edwards, B. Wooller)
Last years poll was closely contested in Park Hill with four Tories and two Lib-Dems being elected. Indeed, the 4th, 5th and 6th places were seperated by only 6 votes. But it was not that tight this time around.
The by-election was called due to the resignation of Conservative, Dominic Coker, who was elected to the town council last year at his first attempt.
Postal Ballots & Holidays
Having a by-election in mid-August was never going to create a great deal of interest – it was holiday time. Indeed, of the 1,743 people that voted, 633 did so by post. Terrible weather on the day of the election did not help matters either, it chucked it down. All the five polling stations used, were quiet the whole day. Only 27.5% of the electorate excised their right to vote.
Mrs Tyler of Inchbrook Road, who works at Warwickshire College in Leamington, was delighted to have won, especially following last years disappointment. Dave Shilton, leader of the Liberal Democrats on the town council said that it was a great result for us and it shows that people trust us and know that we work hard in Kenilworth. Their campaign also saw former councillor and town Mayor, Jack Bastock come out of ‘retirement’ to canvass in the ward, this was despite a recent knee operation.
Tory candidate, Mrs Harrison, who was a town councillor 10 years ago but gave-up due to work commitments said; “Of course I am disappointed, it was a good campaign and people were very supportive on the doorstep”. But it was not all bad news for the Tories as they still have an overall majority on the council of 5 seats.
Kenilworth Town Councillors
11 Conservatives (M. Coker, A. Cockburn, S. Harrison, F. Bunker, P. Edwards, R. Davies, N. Vincent, G. Windybank, U. Durrant, J. Hatfield, G. Illingworth)
5 Liberal Democrats (P. Ryan, A. Blacklock, D. Shilton, D. Golby, A. Tyler)
