This by-election was automatically called due to Lib-Dem councillor, Jill Wane, not attending any meetings for six months. But they 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, Andrea Wooller, said 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, at 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.
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 first took control four years ago, they had a four seat majority. This 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 shrunk to just two. This was due to them losing one seat in a by-election, but 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.
Graham Windybank was elected in Park Hill following his switch from St John’s. He was also hoping that Spencer or Daphne Harrison would get elected but with the popularity of Dave Shilton and the other Lib-Dems, their chances along with the other Tories weren’t very high.
The Tories were very happy to see the return of John Hatfield, who had lost his seat in 1995. New to the Tory ranks are Tim Porter and Alan Cockburn, who were both standing for the first time. They 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.
Following the Tory victory, the Liberal Democrats group leader, Haydn Thomas, will lose his position as leader of the council. That will now be taken-up by Michael Coker. Cllr Thomas was bitterly disappointed with the final results, which put the Tories in control at Southbank Road. But, he was glad they got most of their councillors re-elected, but he was sad that they had lost control.
The Mystery of the 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 couldn’t be on the ballot paper. But as far as Mr Ryan was concerned he had filled in the forms 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”. 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. He added: “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 gaining a seat in the town. Indeed, the last Labour candidate to be elected to the town council was Bill Wozencroft in 1979, but he finally lost his seat in 1983.
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 has 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 Warwick District Council (WDC) 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 WDC 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. She added; “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 election 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.
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 17 members. Abbey ward was down to 5 seats, while Park Hill was increased from 4 to 6. 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. The latter stating that he would have preferred a younger person to stand in his place. He said that he would be quite happy to have become an ‘has-been’. But we can’t seem to 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-seated 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, coming 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 comes along with it. He is a familar name in Kenilworth town elections, usually 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”.
Arrival of the Greens
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………
In Kenilworth it finished all square, on four seats a piece, between the Tories and Lib-Dems. The same as four years ago.
Michael Coker returned after four years away on gardening leave (apparently), regaining 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, didn’t do him any favours. Both Park Hill seats being taken by Lib-Dems, 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 and Labour one. The Lib-Dems gaining two, as did the Independents. In Leamington, the Tories have no seats at all.
WDC Standings (45 seats)
16 Labour Party
13 Liberal Democrats
10 Conservative Party
3 Whitnash Residents Association
3 Independents
NO OVERALL CONTROL
Kenilworth District Councillors
4 Lib-Dems (D. Shilton, D. Golby, H. Pavier, H. Thomas)
4 Conservatives (M. Coker, A. Cockburn, P. Edwards, B. Wooller)
Last year’s 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 down. All the five polling stations 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.
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 in the 1991 district election in Abbey Ward, but lost by only 40 votes to Michael Coker for the third seat. Four years later, however, he was finally elected, this time beating Mr Coker by more than 100 votes.
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 new ‘groovy ball’ at Abbey End. She wants to know why thousands of pounds were spend on it? This was her second district council election having been unsuccessful in the 1999 poll.
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 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.
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, all three candidates retained their seats, Pauline Edwards, Alan Cockburn and Graham Windybank. 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.
WDC Standings (46 seats)
16 Conservative Party
14 Labour Party
10 Liberal Democrats
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)
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 on 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 Ann Blacklock and 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.
