Landslide

HENLEY Residents Group won the town council elections by a landslide, taking a record number of seats.

All 13 HRG candidates were elected while the opposition Conservatives won just two seats.

This beat the group’s previous record set in 2019, when 12 of its candidates were elected.

In a further boost, HRG’s South Oxfordshire district councillors Kellie Hinton, Ken Arlett and Stefan Gawrysiak retained their Henley ward seats in the elections on Thursday week.

The poor result for the Conservatives reflected the national picture with the party losing more than 1,000 councillors and control of 40 councils, including Maidenhead and Windsor.

Their only successes in Henley came with the re-election of Laurence Plant and the election of Gavin Jackson. The remaining seat went to independent candidate and sitting councillor David Eggleton, a former member of HRG. The turnout was 34 per cent.

A number of HRG candidates attended the count in Abingdon on Friday. They wore white and black rosettes with the HRG logo on them and cheered and hugged when the results were announced. Councillor Ian Reissmann said: “People vote for different priorities but this shows that HRG has done a good job for the town, particularly in recent years when the town has continued to thrive despite the pandemic.

“It is fairly obvious that the Tories have struggled nationally and they were swimming against the stream but I am delighted that Laurence Plant has been re-elected as he has worked well with us for the past six years and is a conscientious councillor.”

The election marked the return of former Henley mayor Gill Dodds, who stood for HRG again after a
12-year break from the council.

She said: “When we went round the town, we got so much support. People know that what we say we will do, we do.

“We have done so many wonderful, good things and people know that and they trust us.

“We have run the town for most of the last 32 years. There can’t be many political parties that have achieved that.”

Councillor Hinton, who was
re-elected in thre south ward, said: “It’s a fantastic result. I am absolutely thrilled.

“I am really pleased to see a clear indication of what the people of Henley want.

“I am also really pleased that Councillor Laurence Plant has been re-elected because we work really well with him and I really wanted to see him retain his seat.”

Councillor Gawrysiak, who was elected in north ward, said: “We are Henley residents just doing right by Henley. It is a democratic process so we really thank the residents of Henley for putting their faith and trust in us.

“In the north, we’ve got a brilliant bunch of new councillors who will bring fresh ideas and it will almost be like a renewal of the group. That’s something I really look forward to.”

Councillor Rob Romans, who received almost twice the number of votes he did at the last election, said: “When you have 906 people voting for you, you realise someone has rated the job you do and you feel the sense of responsibility.

“The key thing about HRG is we’re local people and all we’re here to do is help the town. My mantra when it comes to local politics is ‘People and potholes’. That’s what it is all about.

“We debate planning applications, we’re trying to stop the Premier Inn being built, getting potholes filled in — stuff local people care about. The Conservatives were wiped out because of what we are seeing at national level.”

Former mayor Sarah Miller said: “I am delighted as the whole team has worked very hard. It has been a heavy few weeks of canvassing and other election stuff.

“I am excited for the new candidates who are going to bring so much to the council. Everyone did so well, we are all friends and get on very well so it is lovely. I am not surprised with the outcome as it has not been easy for the Tories. A lot of people aren’t very trusting of them right now. I am very happy Laurence scraped in as he works very hard. My priorities are focusing on cleanliness in Henley and bringing more events into the town. The high street has deteriorated and I want to bring in more footfall, especially for independent businesses. We can’t just rely on Henley Royal Regatta, Henley Festival and Rewind.”

Councillor Plant said: “I got back in by the skin on my teeth. I was hopeful but surprised as the numbers were very low for all Conservative candidates. It was tight. I think Gavin and I got through purely because we have local businesses and have a known local presence even though we are Conservatives.

“Apart from a few by-elections, this was the first opportunity for people to say how unhappy they were with the party.”

Louise Hastings, who stood for the Conservatives only three months after taking early retirement as manager of the information centre at the town hall, missed out.

She said the elections had been an “eye-opener”, adding: “I’m not upset, it was a good education and I have met some beautiful people.

“I will carry on doing what I do. Next week, I shall be helping people with housing benefit forms and all the things I normally do. This was just an extra. I’ve got no sad feelings.”

Fellow Conservative Chester Dalrymple said: “Across the country, it seems that the Conservatives weren’t as strong as we could be and I think we need to regroup and come again a lot stronger for the next general election.”

Councillor Eggleton said: “I will continue working hard for the people of Henley.”