Two-horse race in local election battle
Tories and Lib Dems dominate county council elections
LOCAL politics again saw a two-horse race in the battle for Leicestershire County Council seats.
A generally low turnout of around one in three residents elected five Conservatives, four Liberal Democrats and no Labour representatives in the Hinckley and Bosworth divisions.
UKIP’s David Sprason lost his Markfield, Desford and Thornton seat to Tory Peter Bedford by a margin of 772.
Long-standing community representatives including Janice Richards, David Bill, Bill Crooks, Ozzy O’Shea and Michael Mullaney all saw success.
Across the county as a whole there are now 36 Conservative councillors, increasing the majority by 17, and mirroring national gains. The Lib Dems remain the main opposition party with 13 seats. Labour lost seats, falling from nine to six.
The Tory/Lib Dem stranglehold on borough standings remain.
Lib Dem group leader Stuart Bray hung onto his county council seat, coming out on top in the ‘battle of the leaders’ against Tory chief Mike Hall in the St Mary’s division.
He said: “I’m obviously delighted to win again and very grateful to all those people who supported me. Across the country the Conservatives swept the board but here in the town of Hinckley the Lib Dems once again triumphed.
“This was due to the strong record we have locally but also a rejection of the failures of the Tory-run councils. The result in St Mary’s and across the town clearly shows that once again only the Lib Dems can challenge the Conservatives around here.”
Mike Hall, leader of the Tory -run Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, said he was disappointed not to have taken the seat but was pleased the result was so close, coming in second with 320 fewer votes than Cllr Bray.
He added: “With the boundary changes for the division I suppose in some ways St Mary’s was a bit of an unknown quantity. What I am disappointed in, however, is the turnout, although it does always seem to be the case in local elections. It means we must work harder to give people a reason to go out and vote.”
He said he was not concerned that his loss was a reflection on the first year of the Tory administration.
Successful De Montfort candidate, Lib Dem Michael Mullaney, is hoping the support shown at county level will be replicated in the upcoming General Election.
He has again been returned to stand for the Lib Dems.
He said: “On paper De Montfort was a Conservative/Lib Dem marginal seat, the fact we’ve won it comfortably shows we can really challenge David Tredinnick’s grip on the parliamentary seat at the General Election.”
In the rural areas Lib Dem Bill Crooks gained Mallory from the Conservatives, while tireless community servant, David Bill secured a huge majority in the Hollycroft division and was elected for the ninth time in a row.