Lib Dem stands down for MP bid
Wokingham: Council leader Clive Jones to step aside
Wokingham Borough Council’s Clive Jones has announced that he is stepping down from his post as leader of the Liberal Democrat partnership administration after just one year.
He will now direct his political focus on a campaign to become the first Liberal Democrat MP for Wokingham, a seat that has been held by the Conservatives since its inception in 1950.
In a double announcement, Cllr Jones said he is also standing down as leader of the Wokingham Liberal Democrat Party.
His successor in both positions is expected to be Twyford’s councillor Stephen Conway, who has been deputy leader of both the council and the party’s Wokingham branch.
Cllr Jones, who has made a bid for the role of MP twice before, said that the recent Lib Dem local election gains is fast-forwarding this latest campaign.
He said: “If you look at the Twyford result and all the northern parishes and add them to the results from the southern parts of what will become the new parliamentary seat these are the figures: 11,150 votes were cast for Lib Dem candidates, 6,387 for Conservatives and 2,614 for Labour representatives.”
He added: “I’ve really enjoyed being leader of the council and when people asked me how it was going in the first couple of months I replied ‘I am loving it’ and nothing has changed but if we are serious about having a Liberal Democrat MP, the emphasis has got to change and we need to spend more time on that.”
Under the new MP constituency boundaries, which come into force after the next general election, Twyford and other northern parishes within the Wokingham borough will no longer be represented by MP for Maidenhead, Theresa May.
They will instead come under the remit of the MP for Wokingham, currently John Redwood.
With the full backing of Ed Davey, leader of the national Liberal Democrat party, the campaign for another yellow seat in Westminster begins as soon as councillor Jones officially stands down at Wokingham Borough Council’s annual meeting, scheduled for last night (Thursday).
If successful, Cllr Conway will take the helm.
Retiring from his role as a university professor will give the Twyford politician more time to focus on the triple responsibility of looking after the borough, his Twyford ward and the local Lib Dem party.
“It is a step up but it’s not a gigantic step up,” Cllr Conway said.
“I am still very committed to Twyford and will continue to protect and promote its interests. There will be no slacking.”
Discussing Cllr Jones’ decision, he added: “It has been a very successful year and he lead the council very well. I served as his deputy and we worked well together. I feel we achieved a lot in difficult circumstances.
“And the election has been very encouraging.
“Winning the new parliamentary seat under the new boundaries would bring more of our part of Wokingham into our area.
“Twyford will come under the Wokingham seat [previously held under the Maidenhead seat] and that is very relevant to us in the northern parishes.
“The decision is absolutely right to focus on getting a Liberal Democrat MP for Wokingham.
“We closed the gap for John Redwood and we feel we have every good chance of defeating him in the next election.”