Tories almost wiped out as Lib-Dems and Greens dominate district council

THE Conservatives were almost completely wiped out in the South Oxfordshire District Council elections.

They lost nine of their 10 seats and a number of experienced
councillors.

The Liberal Democrats now have an overall majority of seats on the council with 21, up from 13. The Greens gained three seats, bringing their total to eight and Labour retained its three seats. The turnout across the district was 37 per cent.

In the Henley ward Henley Residents Group councillors Ken Arlett, Kellie Hinton and Stefan Gawrysiak retained their seats, receiving 1,652, 1,557 and 1,934 votes respectively.

As the results were announced by deputy returning officer Patrick Arran at the count in Abingdon on Friday, Cllr Arlett encouraged people to cheer, especially for his name.

Cllr Arlett said: “It was very tense. We thought we would do very well but the Liberal and Green candidates got a lot more votes and support than we thought they were going to and that kind of split our vote.

“We really worked for this. We have done a lot of canvassing, knocking on doors and leaflet dropping, so we are really proud to be re-elected. I think this is the fifth time I have been elected, so I am more than happy.”

Cllr Hinton, who was previously vice-chairwoman of the council, said: “I feel great and really proud to retain my seat. I was quite nervous.

“I was really happy to see Helen Fraser (Green) got a lot of votes. I think it follows the trend across the rest of the district and country, which is a real Lib Dem and Green vote.

“What I find really shocking is that previously we had nine Conservative councillors on the district council but right now, we’ve got one. It’s looking like HRG could become the official opposition.”

Cllr Gawrysiak said: “I feel extremely pleased and thank you to the residents of Henley for putting their trust in all of us because it’s lovely to get Henley residents elected.

“We worked together as a team so we will do our best to make sure that things change in Henley and will improve it. We have done that for the last four years but I think we are now going to step up another level to make it even better.

“I was a little worried in the middle of the count because I thought that the Greens were getting good votes and we know that green issues are important but HRG stands for green issues as well.

“There were some good Conservative councillors who didn’t get in, such as Lorraine [Hillier], but the Conservatives are unpopular on a national scale and even if you are a brilliant Conservative councillor, you would be wiped out by this tsunami. They will have to dust themselves off and move forward.”

Ms Hillier, who had represented the Woodcote and Rotherfield ward, missed out on a Henley seat, receiving 1,014 votes.

She said: “I am very sad. Unfortunately, national politics impacted the local election and I understand that. It has been a bit of a bloodbath and, sadly, an absolute wipeout for us.

“It’s a shame because all the Conservatives work really hard. People go into this because they care about their town and not for any other reason.

“Congratulations to the re-elected councillors but I’m really sorry for all those who haven’t been elected. Bit of a sad day for Conservatives.”

Green Party candidate Peter Dragonetti, formerly an Independent, won the seat for Kidmore End and Whitchurch. He received more than 62 per cent of the vote ahead of his rival, Conservative Jim Donahue, who received 37 per cent.

Councillor Dragonetti said: “I am delighted to have been re-elected. I think it stands up to my record of four years as a district councillor. I am well-known in the ward. I know lots of people and lots of people like what I do. I will continue to work for the residents.”

Liberal Democrat candidate Sue Cooper and Green candidate Andrea Powell won the seats for Benson and Crowmarsh ward.

Cllr Cooper, a former council leader, received 1,589 votes, while Cllr Powell received 1,534.

Cllr Powell said: “I am really thrilled. Four years ago, when I was elected after been given a 20 per cent chance, I said: ‘My main job is to get re-elected in four years’ time’, so to be re-elected with an increased vote and increased share is fantastic testament to what we have done and shows that we can really make a difference by working collaboratively.”

In the Sonning Common ward, Conservative David Bartholomew lost his seat to Liberal Democrat Mike Giles, who received 27 per cent of the vote. Fellow Lib-Dem Leigh Rawlins held his seat with 30 per cent of the vote.

Cllr Giles said: “I was supporting some of the other candidates in previous elections and it felt like the right time to put myself forward and see if I could be a good choice locally as well.

“It has been a big team effort. Leigh has been fantastic and Freddie Van Mierlo has been fantastic as well, so our next challenge is getting him elected as Henley MP. This is just the beginning for us and we are pushing ahead with what has been happening since 2019 along with the Greens.

“This is what the Tories deserve really. They have had a long time in office and they haven’t been delivering for people so now it’s time for change.”

Cllr Rawlins said: “There is a huge wave of gold and green today and I am absolutely delighted.

“It’s a clear message from the electorate to everyone but in particular about planning, overdevelopment and building the wrong sort of houses and not the houses that we really need, which are modest ones.”

“Between the censuses of 2011 and 2021, 46 per cent of all the change in housing stock in South Oxfordshire was in four-plus bedroom homes and virtually none of them was social or rent.

“How is that helping the housing need for young, first-time buyers and downsizers? It just wasn’t.

“We want to build the houses that people need and we want them to be properly insulated and green.”

Liberal Democrat candidate Maggie Filipova-Rivers kept her seat in Goring, keeping out Conservative candidate Kevin Bulmer.

She said: “I feel really good. It has been a really amazing campaign and I had lots of support.”

She took her 10-year-old son, Noah, to the count, saying he had been an “active campaigner”.

Mr Bulmer said he was disappointed but not surprised by the result.

He said: “National politics always plays the largest part in local elections despite what people may say. It’s not a good thing. I doubt if I will be trying again in four years as I will probably have moved on and will be doing other things.”

Green candidate Jo Robb retained her seat for Woodcote and Rotherfield, receiving 1,529 votes.

Her fellow Green candidate James Norman replaced Cllr Hillier with 1,387 votes.

Cllr Robb said: “I am elated and very relieved. It has been stressful.It is such a big, rural ward, traditionally very Conservative, so we worked really hard on this campaign. I had the most amazing team of volunteers.

“Without doubt, we benefited from the national picture. There has been a lot of dissatisfaction with the Conservatives among Conservative voters.”