Nick – Page 5 – Disappearing Kenilworth

2004 – 12th August – Kenilworth Town Council – By Election

15 June 202311 March 2025 Nick Leave a comment

Park Hill Ward

Candidate	Party	Votes
Alison Tyler	Liberal Democrats	670
Daphne Harrison	Conservative Party	623
Robert Daniel	Kenilworth Regeneration	250
Maureen Hazelwood	Labour Party	112
Brian Hadland	English Independence	88

Turnout 27.5%

LIB-DEM GAIN FROM CONSERVATIVES

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 very 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)

1 Independent (T. Martin)

2001 – 15th November – Warwick District Council – By Election – Kenilworth

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St. John’s

Leslie Graham Windybank	Conservative Party	983
Janice Ford	Labour Party	576
Patrick Joseph Ryan	Liberal Democrats	249

Registered Voters 7448

Ballot Papers Issued 1758 (10 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 1808 (23.6% Turnout)

WINDYBANK IS BACK – IN POOR TURNOUT

The by-election was caused by the resignation of Tory veteran, Bob Wooller, who was moving to Devon. He was elected to the district council in 1983 and had been a member ever since. He had also been a county councillor for the past twelve years.

Graham Windybank returns to the district council after two years away, having lost his seat in the 1999 election. He first stood in a district election in 1979 at Castle Ward but was unsuccessful, but won a by-election at Abbey & Borrowell in 1982, as a Liberal.

He said he was glad to be back, I campaigned very hard and the effort paid off. It was never going to be easy as I had good opponents. The turnout of voters was poor but I thought it might be even worse given the dark nights and cold weather. One of my tasks at the district council will be to fight for a better share of resources for Kenilworth, which has been lacking in recent years.

Teacher, Pat Ryan, who has been away from the district council for two years, trailed in last place, but St. John’s has always been a difficult ward for the Liberal Democrats. He first stood at the 1991 district election in Abbey Ward, but lost by only 40 votes to Michael Coker for third place. Four years later, however, he was finally elected, this time beating Cllr Coker by more than 100 votes for the third seat.

Labour candidate, 43 year-old, Jan Ford, has lived in the town for 14 years and is a part-time lecturer at De Montfort University in Leicester. But there is one thing in Kenilworth that has always annoyed her is the ‘groovy ball’ at Abbey End. She wants to find out why thousands of pounds were spend on it. This was her second district council election having been unsuccessful in the 1999 poll.

2006 – 2nd March – Kenilworth Town Council – By Election

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St. John’s Ward

Candidate	Party	Votes
Susan Vera Howell	Conservative Party	862
Shirley Beatrice Shilton	Liberal Democrats	695
Jeremy Eastaugh	Labour Party	201
Brian Percy Hadland	Independent	48
Christopher John Edgerton	OBH No Care Beds	16

Electorate 5862

Ballot Papers Issued 1338 (31.3% Turnout)

FORMER TOWN CLERK NOW A COUNCILLOR

There was a poor turnout of just 31% turnout for this by-election following the death of long-serving Tory councillor Graham Windybank. It was always likely that the seat would remain in Tory hands as it has been a stronghold of theirs for decades. Indeed, Susan Howell was the victorious, winning by a majority of 167 votes. Her name will be familiar to Kenilworth people as she had been the town clerk from 1987 to 2003. She is now back in the council chamber, not taking the minutes but making them!

Mrs Howell of Thickthorn Orchards, who was born in Solihull was delighted at the result. She admitted that during her time as town clerk she was always interested in listening to the council meetings, and often wanted to say something but now she can!

Chairman of the Kenilworth Liberal Democrats, John Whitehouse said that they were happy at the outcome of their candidate, Shirley Shilton getting 695 votes, considering we traditionally have not been strong in this ward, it is something we can build upon.

Kenilworth Town Councillors

11 Conservatives (M. Coker, A. Cockburn, S. Harrison, F. Bunker, P. Edwards, R. Davies, N. Vincent, S. Howell, U. Durrant, J. Hadfield, G. Illingworth)

5 Liberal Democrats (P. Ryan, A. Blacklock, D. Shilton, D. Golby, A. Tyler)

1 Independent (T. Martin)

2003 – 1st May – Warwick District Council Elections – Kenilworth

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Abbey (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Michael Francis Coker	Conservative Party	1262
Ann Blacklock	Liberal Democrats	1151
John Edmond Hatfield	Conservative Party	1102
George Reginald Illingworth	Conservative Party	997
Patrick Joseph Ryan	Liberal Democrats	918
Kevin Holt	Liberal Democrats	864
David John Peggs	Labour Party	317
Jacqueline Mary Smith	Labour Party	307
Christopher Thomas Gallon	Labour Party	291

Registered Voters 5890

Ballot Papers Issued 2451 (8 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 7209 (41.6% Turnout)

Park Hill (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*David John Shilton	Liberal Democrats	1160
Felicity Gena Bunker	Conservative Party	1036
Richard Ivor Graham Davies	Conservative Party	991
John Anthony Sheehan	Conservative Party	873
Richard Sweeney	Liberal Democrats	829
*Douglas Alan Golby	Liberal Democrats	801
Peter Hodgkinson	Labour Party	324
Henry Scarborough	Labour Party	305
Peter Joseph Sheils	Labour Party	288

Registered Voters 6176

Ballot Papers Issued 2344 (5 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 6607 (38% Turnout)

St. John’s (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Pauline Winifred Edwards	Conservative Party	1230
*Alan James Lancaster Cockburn	Conservative Party	1186
Leslie Graham Windybank	Conservative Party	1160
Alan Terence Ainsworth	Labour Party	531
John Richard Whitehouse	Liberal Democrats	526
Mary Latham Harrison	Liberal Democrats	525
Janice Ford	Labour Party	513
Michael Charles Collier	Labour Party	509
Judith Ann Rawson	Liberal Democrats	490
Christopher John Edgerton	Independent	386
Philippa Cecily Austin	Green Party	264

*denotes retiring councillors

Registered Voters 5877

Ballot Papers Issued 2623 (25 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 7320 (44.8% Turnout)

TORY GLORY – WITH RE-DRAWN BOUNDARIES

The district council increased the number of seats from 45 to 46, and Kenilworth was allocated this seat. It went to Park Hill, which had been a two-seat ward for 30 years. This meant each ward now had three seats. So to accomodate the addition seat and to make them as equal as possible, the boundaries of each ward had to be re-drawn. 2,500 electors were transfered from St. John’s to Park Hill, which affected the areas of Windy Arbour, Leyes Lane, Whitemoor Road and Glasshouse Lane. Abbey ward, received 977 electors from St. John’s ward in John O’Gaunt Road and Willoughby Ave. Plus 540 from Crackley Lane and Cromwell Lane in Burton Green.

The Tories seemed to be the party to benefit from these changes and seven of their candidates were elected. In St John’s, Pauline Edwards and Alan Cockburn retained their seats, with the addition of Graham Windybank, who was back on the council after eight years away. New Tory faces in Park Hill are Felicity Bunker and Richard Davies. Michael Coker was re-elected in Abbey, plus John Hatfield, who had narrowly missed out at the 1999 election.

Two Lib-Dem councillors, Haydn Thomas and Helen Pavier did not seek re-election and were replaced in Abbey ward by Ann Blacklock and Kevin Holt. Cllr Blacklock was delighted to get elected in her first ever district election, finishing in second place with 1151 votes. But she was very disappointed to see that Doug Golby lose his seat in Park Hill. She said that the boundary changes were probably the reason for his downfall. But it didn’t affect Dave Shilton who retained his seat easily, topping the poll with 1160 votes.

In the district overall, the results were; 16 Tories, 14 Labour, 10 Lib-Dems, 3 Whitnash Residents Association, 3 Independents. No overall control.

Kenilworth District Councillors

7 Conservatives (G. Windybank, A. Cockburn, P. Edwards, F. Bunker, R. Davies, J. Hatfield, M. Coker)

2 Liberal Democrats (A. Blacklock, D. Shilton)

2007 – 3rd May – Kenilworth Town Council – Election

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Abbey Ward (5 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Ann Blacklock	Liberal Democrats	1405
*Michael Francis Coker	Conservative Party	1390
*George Reginald Illingworth	Conservative Party	1288
Daphne Rose Harrison	Conservative Party	1224
*Patrick Joseph Ryan	Liberal Democrats	1170
Katherine Sara Dickson	Liberal Democrats	1152
Thomas Anthony Dalton	Conservative Party	1135
Alan Rickers	Conservative Party	1130
John Richard Whitehouse	Liberal Democrats	1063
Susan Helen Edwards	Liberal Democrats	1036

Turnout 51%

Electorate 5136

Ballot Papers Issued 2625 (23 Spoilt Papers)

Park Hill Ward (6 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*David John Shilton	Conservative Party	1673
*Felicity Gena Bunker	Conservative Party	1611
Andrew James Mobbs	Conservative Party	1528
*Spencer Charlton Harrison	Conservative Party	1506
Patricia May Cain	Conservative Party	1482
*Ursula Stella Durrant	Conservative Party	1443
*Alison Rita Margaret Tyler	Liberal Democrats	1018
*Douglas Alan Golby	Liberal Democrats	1006
Kevin Holt	Liberal Democrats	918
Eric Lewis Deal	Liberal Democrats	891
Mary Latham Harrison	Liberal Democrats	860
Ian Malcolm Fenwick	Liberal Democrats	843
Maureen Teresa Hazelwood	Labour Party	310

Turnout 45%

Electorate 6375

Ballot Papers Issued 2889 (15 Spoilt Papers)

St John’s Ward (6 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Richard Ivor Graham Davies	Conservative Party	1686
*Pauline Winifred Edwards	Conservative Party	1674
*John Edmond Hatfield	Conservative Party	1656
*Alan James Lancaster Cockburn	Conservative Party	1635
*Norman John Vincent	Conservative Party	1577
*Susan Vera Howell	Conservative Party	1567
Richard Guy Dickson	Liberal Democrats	777
Richard Sweeney	Liberal Democrats	707
John Steven Wilson	Liberal Democrats	687
Peter Joseph Sheils	Labour Party	630
Matthew John Feeley	Labour Party	613
Robin Rain Winn	Labour Party	588
George Albert Jones	British National Party	294

*denotes retiring councillor

Turnout 49%

Electorate 5850

Ballot Papers Issued 2847 (25 Spoilt Papers)

TORIES DOMINATE – AFTER TECHNICAL HITCH

Following gremlins with the new electronic counting system, in which two counts had to be abandoned, the counting in the end, had to be done the good old fashioned-way, manually. This delayed the results by a several days, the count began last Thursday night – 3rd May – but didn’t end until Tuesday 7th May.

The Conservatives stormed to a convincing victory over their rivals, with a 13 seat majority. They totally dominated St Johns and Park Hill, taking all 12 seats. In Abbey they got three from five seats, the other two went to the Lib-Dems, Ann Blacklock and Pat Ryan. Overall the Lib-Dems lost three seats, leaving them with only two seats on the council. Doug Golby lost his seat in Park Hill which he had held since 1995. Also in Park Hill, Alison Tyler, failed to retain her seat having been elected in the 2004 by-election.

Although switching from the Lib-Dems to the Tories, Dave Shilton still retained his seat on the council, coming top-of-the-pile in Park Hill. The other eleven Tories who stood for re-election were all successful, including Susan Howell who retained her seat following her by-election victory last year. New faces on the Tory benches include, Andrew Mobbs, Patricia Cain and Daphne Harrison. Michael Coker said he was delighted at the results, the Liberal Democrats were virtually wiped-out with the exception of Cllr Blacklock and Cllr Pat Ryan, who we are glad to see elected as he is to become the Mayor next week. It will be two or three days before we celebrate, we have a lot of hard work to do.

Independent member, Trevor Martin of Kenilworth Regeneration, who was elected to the council four years ago, did not seek re-election.

Kenilworth Town Councillors

15 Conservative Party (R. Davies, P. Edwards, J. Hatfield, A. Cockburn, N. Vincent, S. Howell, D. Shilton, F. Bunker, A. Mobbs, S. Harrison, P. Cain, U. Durrant, M. Coker, G. Illingworth, D. Harrison)

2 Liberal Democrats (A. Blacklock, P. Ryan)

Mayors

2007-08 Patrick Ryan

2008-09 Spencer Harrison

2009-10 Richard Davies

2010-11 Susan Howell

2006 – 2nd March – Warwick District Council – By Election – Kenilworth

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St. John’s

Norman John Vincent	Conservative Party	890
Shirley Beatrice Shilton	Liberal Democrats	674
Jeremy Eastaugh	Labour Party	206
Brian Percy Hadland	Independent	52

Registered Voters 5862

Ballot Papers Issued 1837 (9 spoilt Papers)

Votes Cast 1822 (31.3%)

CONSERVATIVES RETAIN SEAT

This by-election was called due to the death of Graham Windybank, who was first elected to St. John’s at a by-election in 1990 but lost his seat at the 1999 election. However, he regained his seat in another by-election in 2001, and three years ago, was re-elected in the full district election.

Following his victory, Mr. Vincent paid tribute to his predecessor, saying “If I can do half as good as Graham did then, I will be very pleased”. This is his first time on the district council.

He spent 26 years working for the Ministry of Defence and then became a director of an engineering consultancy. He is now semi-retired and runs a small company and has lived in the town for 27 years.

Kenilworth District Councillors

7 Conservatives (N. Vincent, A. Cockburn, P. Edwards, F. Bunker, R. Davies, J. Hatfirld, M. Coker)

2 Liberal Democrats (A. Blacklock, D. Shilton)

2011 – 5th May – Kenilworth Town Council – Election

10 June 202323 October 2024 Nick Leave a comment

Abbey Ward (5 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Michael Francis Coker	Conservative Party	1526
*George Reginald Illingworth	Conservative Party	1417
Katherine Sara Dickson	Liberal Democrats	1386
*Patrick Joseph Ryan	Liberal Democrats	1339
John Anthony Cooke	Conservative Party	1335
Susan McGowan	Liberal Democrats	1241
Andrew John Guy Garsed	Conservative Party	1234
Rowena Ann Hill	Conservative Party	1227

Registered Voters 5099

Ballot Papers Issued 2935 (134 spoilt papers)

Turnout 57.6%

Park Hill Wards (6 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Dave John Shilton	Conservative Party	2036
*Felicity Gena Bunker	Conservative Party	1898
*Andrew James Mobbs	Conservative Party	1808
Shirley Beatrice Shilton	Conservative Party	1711
Michael Charles Hitchins	Conservative Party	1638
Mark Vivian Lewis	Conservative Party	1631
Alison Rita Margaret Tyler	Liberal Democrats	1271
Mary Latham Harrison	Liberal Democrats	1228
Andrew Christopher Tulloch	Liberal Democrats	1185

Registered Voters 6397

Ballot Papers Issued 3432 (164 spoilt papers)

Turnout 53.6%

St John’s Ward (6 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Alan James Lancaster Cockburn	Conservative Party	1712
Erica Davies	Conservative Party	1677
*Pauline Winifred Edwards	Conservative Party	1629
*Richard Ivor Graham Davies	Conservative Party	1614
John Stephen Dagg	Conservative Party	1550
*Norman John Vincent	Conservative Party	1546
Gillian Ann Palmer	Liberal Democrats	1167
Richard Guy Dickson	Liberal Democrats	1146
Ian Malcolm Fenwick	Liberal Democrats	990

*denotes retiring councillor

Registered Voters 5808

Ballot Papers Issued 3122 (151 spoilt papers)

Turnout 53.7%

TORIES CONSOLIDATE

The Conservatives kept the same majority of 13, just like the 2007 election. The only change being seven new councillors, including two married couples.

One new Tory is Shirley Shilton (pictured), wife of Dave Shilton, who were both elected in Park Hill. The other married couple are Erica and Richard Davies, elected in St. John’s.

Tory, John Cooke returns to the town council after 20 long years away, he had previously served from 1979 to 1991. New to the Tories is John Dagg, who was easily elected in St. John’s.

The Lib-Dems have a new face, Katherine Dickson who was elected in Abbey ward along with veteran Pat Ryan who retained his seat, which he has held for the past eight years.

Spoilt Papers Galore

A not so good statistic of the election was the amount of spoilt ballot papers. Each ward had over 100, totalling 449 in all. A record by a long way. The official reasons given for the spoilt papers were: ‘being un-marked’, ‘wholly void for uncertainty’ or for ‘voting for too many candidates’. However, it has to be noted that the Labour party did not put forward any candidates in this election, which may have resulted in some sort of ‘protest vote’, due to their non-participation.

John Whitehouse, Lib-Dem, WCC member for Abbey ward, said that he found it very interesting that the Lib-Dems called for a smaller town council, and then people voted for fewer councillors than the number they were allowed to vote for on their ballot paper.

Mayors

2011-12 Dave Shilton (pictured)

2012-13 George Illingworth

2013-14 Felicity Bunker

2014-15 John Cooke

Kenilworth Town Councillors

15 Conservatives (D. Shilton, S. Shilton, E. Davies, R. Davies, A. Cockburn, P. Edwards, J. Dagg, N. Vincent, M. Lewis, M. Hitchins, F. Bunker, A. Mobbs, M. Coker, J. Cooke, G. Illingworth)

2 Liberal Democrats (K. Dickson, P. Ryan)

2007 – 3rd May – Warwick District Council Elections – Kenilworth

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Abbey (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Michael Francis Coker	Conservative Party	1568
*Ann Blacklock	Liberal Democrats	1444
George Reginald Illingworth	Conservative Party	1411
Spencer Charlton Harrison	Conservative Party	1352
Katherine Dickson	Liberal Democrats	1135
Patrick Joseph Ryan	Liberal Democrats	1107
Denny Reader	Green Party	324
Michael David Ellwood	Labour Party	244

Registered Voters 5902

Ballot Papers Issued 3010 (0 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 8585 (51% Turnout)

NO CHANGE

Park Hill (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Dave John Shilton	Conservative Party	1681
*Felicity Gena Bunker	Conservative Party	1587
Andrew Mobbs	Conservative Party	1548
Alison Rita Margaret Tyler	Liberal Democrats	974
Douglas Golby	Liberal Democrats	921
Kevin Holt	Liberal Democrats	843
Richard John Brayne	Green Party	284
Ian Henderson	Labour Party	243

Registered Voters 6375

Ballot Papers Issued 2890 (11 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 8081 (45.3% Turnout)

CONSERVATIVES GAIN FROM LIB-DEMS

St. John’s (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Richard Ivor Davies	Conservative Party	1637
*John Edmond Hatfield	Conservative Party	1584
*Norman John Vincent	Conservative Party	1559
Mary Latham Harrison	Liberal Democrats	498
Matthew John Feeley	Labour Party	454
Peter Joseph Sheils	Labour Party	446
Robin Rain Winn	Labour Party	439
Richard Sweeney	Liberal Democrats	436
John Steven Wilson	Liberal Democrats	401
Philippa Cecily Austin	Green Party	373
George Albert Jones	British National Party (BNP)	257

*denotes retiring councillors

Registered Voters 5850

Ballot Papers Issued 2851 (15 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 8084 (48.7% Turnout)

NO CHANGE

TORIES GAIN ONE SEAT FROM LIB-DEMS – DUE TO SWITCH

Following problems with the newly introduced electronic counting system, the counting had to be done the old way – manually. This delayed the results by several days. The count began on election night – 3rd May – but didn’t end until Tuesday 7th May.

In the end, the Conservatives gained one seat in Kenilworth due to long-standing Liberal Democrat, Dave Shilton switching to the Tories. He retained his seat in Park Hill, topped the poll with 1681 votes, the largest in all three wards.

The Resuffle

Alan Cockburn and Pauline Edwards, who held seats in St. John’s did not seek re-election. So the Conservatives had a small ‘reshuffle’ of candidates around the wards. John Hatfield moved from Abbey to St. John’s and Richard Davies from Park Hill also to St. John’s. This helped two new recruits get elected, Andrew Mobbs and George Illingworth.

In the district overall, the Tories gained 7 seats and now have 24 councillors, Labour and Lib-Dems have 9 each plus 4 Independents. This gives them a two seat majority in the 46-seat council. The first time in 12 years they have control.

Kenilworth District Councillors

8 Conservative Party (D. Shilton, N. Vincent, R. Davies, J. Hatfield, F. Bunker, A. Mobbs, G. Illingworth, M. Coker)

1 Liberal Democrats (A. Blacklock)

2011 – 5th May – Warwick District Council Elections – Kenilworth

7 June 202315 May 2025 Nick Leave a comment

Abbey (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Michael Francis Coker	Conservative Party	1589
*Ann Blacklock	Liberal Democrats	1495
*George Reginald Illingworth	Conservative Party	1479
John Anthony Cooke	Conservative Party	1339
Katherine Sara Dickson	Liberal Democrats	1060
Patrick Joseph Ryan	Liberal Democrats	1005
Andrew Keith Roadnight	Labour Party	490
May Alice Fitzpatrick	Green Party	476
Ann Laura Lewis	Green Party	252
David Keith Charles Wood	Green Party	244

Registered Voters 5840

Ballot Papers Issued 3397 (32 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 9429 (58.2%)

NO CHANGE

Park Hill (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Dave John Shilton	Conservative Party	1885
*Felicity Gena Bunker	Conservative Party	1731
*Andrew James Mobbs	Conservative Party	1673
Justine Potts	Labour Party	724
Alison Rita Margaret Tyler	Liberal Democrats	680
Andrew Tulloch	Liberal Democrats	570
Susan McGowan	Liberal Democrats	549
Ian Henderson	Labour Party	547
James Harrison	Green Party	497
Pam Lunn	Green Party	333
Angela Maria Owen	Green Party	243

Registered Voters 6397

Ballot Papers Issued 3164 (54 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 9432 (49.4%)

NO CHANGE

St. John’s (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Richard Ivor Davies	Conservative Party	1603
John Stephen Dagg	Conservative Party	1478
*Norman John Vincent	Conservative Party	1441
Gillian Anne Palmer	Liberal Democrats	653
Jeremy Eastaugh	Labour Party	634
Richard Guy Dickson	Liberal Democrats	628
Mary-Ann Stephenson	Labour Party	620
Peter Joseph Sheils	Labour Party	598
Ian Malcolm Fenwick	Liberal Democrats	475
Philippa Cecily Austin	Green Party	442
Rob Van Schie	Green Party	167
Kate Edwards-Kearney	Green Party	161

*denotes retiring councillors

Registered Voters 5808

Ballot Papers Issued 3161 (37 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 8900 (54.4%)

NO CHANGE

NO CHANGE IN KENILWORTH

The Conservatives are still in control at Kenilworth, just like at the 2007 election. The only change being a new face in the their ranks, John Dagg, who was elected in St. John’s ward. He replaced John Hatfield who had been a district councillor for the last eight years.

Ann Blacklock, who was first elected to the district council in 2003, remains the lonesome Liberal Democrat in Kenilworth.

Although the Green Party did not get anyone elected, they put forward nine candidates, three in each ward. Pippa Austin, who got 442 votes in St. John’s, first stood in a district election way back in 1991, getting 100 votes in Park Hill.

In the district, the Conservatives have 25 seats, giving them a four seat majority. The Liberal Democrats have 9 seats, Labour 8, Whitnash Residents Association 3 and Independents 1.

Kenilworth District Councillors

8 Conservatives (D. Shilton, M. Coker, N. Vincent, R. Davies, J. Dagg, F. Bunker, A. Mobbs, G. Illingworth)

1 Liberal Democrat (Ann Blacklock)

Kenilworth Magistrates Court 1947

7 June 202310 February 2025 Nick Leave a comment

Off to the Nick For a Seven Pence Trick

Two local men were charged at court with 6 offences of obtaining the sum of 7d from each of 6 residents in the Castle Hill area – by means of a trick. The men were employed by a local coal dealer to deliver to each respective customer, two cwts of coal. They were given a list of the customers which gave full particulars of the load and the price to be charged.

The two men, Cyril Lewis Winter of Birches Cottages, Leek Wootton and Charles Alfred Cox of Guy Road, Kenilworth, charged customers 7/6d, the charge of which should have been 6/11d, an overcharge of 7d. The accused asked for 80 other offences to be taken into consideration, and it was stated that 19 of the people overcharged, were old-age pensioners, of which 16 were widows and 26 were over the age of 60 years. All were working-class people.

The bench had little sympathy with the accused men. According, Mr. F. Lee, chairman, sentenced each of them to 3 months in prison on all 6 counts. The sentences would run concurrently, luckily for the men.

Dairyman Who Sold Too Much Milk

Kenneth Gee of the Bungalows, Grounds farm was before the bench on the none payment of a £360 fine. This was imposed on him last September for selling milk in excess of the quantity allowed by law.

Gee stated that all his assets were tied-up in the dairy business in which he was in partnership with his brother. He was receiving £15-a-month in wages and the 4.5 acres of agricuitural land which he owned was secured against a bank overdraft. He offered to pay £10 a month and the bench commented that, as he had already paid back £100, it would take over two years to clear the balance.

After a short retirement, the magistrates ordered Mr. Gee to pay £20 per month or in default, three months imprisonment. (A bit harsh)

The Army Isn’t for Him

In March, James Morris of Rouncil Lane, was summoned to court on charges of desertion from the army. He was remanded in custody by the bench, to await a miltary escort. When arrested, he stated, ‘I am a deserter, I don’t like the army’.

Randall Road from the ‘Middle Ages’

In a letter, Harold Williams of 39, Randall Road, wrote that he had withheld his rate payments due to the lack of attention to his road. Although houses had been occupied for the past 15 years or so, as yet, no surface had been laid down, on either the road or footpath. When summoned to court for non-payment of his rates, he offered to pay 10s a week. He added that stop-cocks are without lids, bringing danger to children or adults when out after dark. In addition, after the slightest of showers, the road is flooded, sufficent enough for even a toddler to be drowned. He also stressed that the condition of this road is worse than ones in ‘Middle Ages’, at a time when garbage was thrown into the streets. The rate-collector said that the state of the road was not the issue here. An application for distress was granted by the court.