The six traditional wards were replaced by three larger ones. The historical: Windy Arbour, Borrowell and Castle wards were gone. Also, the number of councillors was reduced from 18 down to 16. One further change was that elections would now be every four years, replacing the longstanding triennial polls.
These changes did not go down well with the heavily defeated Liberals. They claimed the results on the new ward boundaries had favoured the Tories, and had been engineered by them. Town Major, Bill Wozencroft lost his seat, as did three others members, deputy Mayor Haydn Thomas, his wife, Enys and Liberal leader Graham Windybank. The Liberals were now down to just three councillors, a reduction of four from the 1979 election.
Jack Bastock, one of the Liberals who survived the rout, stated that the new boundaries were a ‘big con’, the wards were so large the result was distorted. The Liberals also believed that many new people on the Knight’s Meadow estate were not aware of the Liberals strength or hard work they do in Kenilworth, and as a result voted politically.
New to the Tory ranks are solicitor, Michael Coker and Spencer Harrison who are also District Councillors. Other new members include Peggy Cox, wife of the late, Jack Cox. Tony Dalton, an office equipment supplier, has lived in Kenilworth for seven years and was elected in Park Hill. Mike James, John Hatfield and Pauline Edwards are also completely new to council work. But Kenneth Hogarth is an ‘old’ face to the council having been Town Mayor (1976-77) and Chairman of the old KUDC (1973-74), before losing his seat in 1979.
Viki McClean is not entirely a new face, having been co-opted onto the council in March this year. Bob Wooller, following his by-election success last September, topped the tree in St John’s with a whopping 2046 votes, the highest of any candidate.
Jack Bastock (pictured), who is the only remaining Alliance town councillor, has accused the Conservatives of waging a war of ‘dirty tactics’ in the run-up to the election. But Tory group leader, Ken Rawnsley hit back with claims that the Alliance were behind a personal smear campaign against him.
Cllr Bastock said he was very concerned about the statements made by the Tories in their election address leaflets. They said that the Alliance would put an end to free car-parking in Kenilworth, when infact we have fought for free parking since 1974. They also accused us of voting against the swimming pool, when we were all in favour of getting a pool for the town. What we said was that it was not big enough and should not be put in the Abbey Fields. But Cllr Rawnsley said the complaints were; “totally rubbish, from beginning to end”. I will explain our leaflets to Cllr Bastock anytime, all we did was to warn the public of the dangers of the opposition gaining control of the council.
The Tories increased their stranglehold on the council, winning 15 of the 16 seats. One noticeable new face to the Tory ranks is historian and author, John Drew, who topped the poll in Park Hill. He wrote his first book in 1969, followed by many others of his home town. He has been on TV, and notabaly on radio, appearing twice on the popular BBC Radio 4’s series, Down Your Way. Three years ago the Town Council recognised his contribution to the town by naming a street after him, Drew Crescent. This was not the first town election he had contested, he had stood in the inaugural poll of 1976, as a Liberal, but failed to get elected.
Graham Windybank regained his seat following his defeat at the 1983 poll. He now has switched to the Conservatives from the Alliance.
This by-election was called due to the death of James Whitby, who died last month. He had been a district councillor since 1983, and had also served on both the town council and the old KUDC.
St John’s remains with the Conservatives following Graham Windybank’s victory. Mr Windybank, of Brookside Ave, has lived in the town for the past 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 Lib-Dems 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, he also regained 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 were un-seated. 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.
5 Lib-Dems (Bastock, H. Thomas, E, Thomas, Pavier, 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 the house 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, Sergeant Ingram, 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 had left on Monday 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 due to her bad health, he did not want her here. 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). During his time in Ceylon, his father became the Archdeacon of Columbo from 1815 until his death in 1824.
On the family’s return to England, Charles came to Kenilworth and moved into the Woodlands. With family connections to Lord Leigh, Charles became the rector of Ashow in 1831.2
Busby Sent to the Assizes
Martha Busby was sent for trial on the 2nd August,3 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 at the Woodlands on 24th February. 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. In his opinion 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
Photo courtesy of the Warwickshire County Records Office. Ref. PH 652/1/111 Img 7091
We must remember that these events took place 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 Church4, 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’.5
The Woodlands and The Will
In its prime, the Woodlands employed numerous servants, including a butler, lady’s maid, housekeeper, housemaid, coachman, gardener and a groom.6
Charles Twistleton died on the 13th September 1890, aged 84,7 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.8 Dorothea continued to live at the Woodlands for a period of time, but eventually left Kenilworth. She died in 1933, at Chippenham, aged 82. It appears she never re-married.9
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 residing in the Tormoham district of Torquay, and is recorded as being a domestic servant for a school mistress. The address that she was living and working at, 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, but none of these were Martha’s children. They were from her husband’s previous marriage to Mary Grace, who had died in 1882, aged just 34.10
Martha died in the first quarter of 1916, at Totnes, Paignton, aged 66.11 By this time she was a widow.
In Kenilworth, the Tories had a much tougher time than usual at this years election. However, in Park Hill and St. John’s, they won all five seats.
But in Abbey 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 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 away for eight years.
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 Tories, who received 39% of the vote. Their six seats in Kenilworth helped strongly towards the narrow three seat majority.
WDC Standings (45 Seats)
24 Conservative Party
10 Labour Party
8 Liberal Democrats
3 Whitnash Residents Association
3 SEAT OVERALL MAJORITY
Kenilworth District Councillors
6 Conservatives (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 council decided not to fund polling cards for ‘casual vacancy’ positions. But not many electors were aware of this. However, it has always been the case that electors do not need a polling card to cast their vote, they just need to turn-up and give their name and address.
The Lib-Dems were celebrating after seizing control of the council. The Tories had gone into the election with a 11-5 majority but this was turned on its head. 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 he was very disappointed; “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 Lib-Dems (Shilton, Rawson, Harrison, Golby, Bastock, H. Thomas, E. Thomas, Ryan, Pavier, Gillman)
After 18 months away, jubilant Tory, Michael Coker was back on the town council. A poll of 847 votes gave him a comfortable victory by 335 over Lib-Dem rival, Graham Thomas.
This 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 it 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 & Stoneleigh 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.
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 Liberal Democrat, 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 Tory member Michael Coker by 156 votes, who beat him by 40 votes four years ago. 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 well over 1,000 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 WDC was created.
WDC Standings (45 seats)
17 Labour Party
13 Conservative Party
11 Liberal Democrats
3 Whitnash Residents Association
1 Independent
NO OVERALL CONTROL
Kenilworth District Councillors
4 Lib-Dems (J. Bastock, H, Thomas, P. Ryan, D. Shilton)
4 Conservatives (P. Edwards. B. Wooller, G. Windybank, S. Harrison)
