Last-ditch plea for votes as polls to open for Winchester City Council election

POLITICIANS in Winchester have made a last-ditch plea for votes

On May 5 thousands of residents will cast their votes in the local elections for Winchester City Council.

The council has 16 wards with two or three councillors representing each one, this year there will be one seat in 15 district wards up for election.

Nine of these seats are held by the Liberal Democrats who currently control the council with a 26 seat majority out of 44.

The remaining six seats up for election are held by Conservatives who hold 16 seats in total and act as the main opposition party.

The leader of the council, Councillor Lucille Thompson said the Liberal Democrats are having a ‘tremendously positive response’ on residents’ doorsteps.

‘People are really liking what we've been doing in terms of recycling and our focus on the environment,’ she said.

‘We want to trial low carbon bin lorries and electric buses but we need to work out how we provide the infrastructure.’

‘We’re also making great strides in our council house new build programme, I think we’ve got about 130 being built right now and we’ve already completed 120 over the last couple of years.’

Councillor Caroline Horrill, leader of the opposition said that the Conservatives are the party ‘to get things done’.

‘We’ve had three years of Liberal administration and no progress on any major projects,’ she said.

‘We’re advocating for a financial regime that does not put a cost on our residents. The current administration has put up council tax and fees and charges by three per cent and raised parking charges wherever they can.

‘We have indicated that we would rescind some of those charges where we’re able to and indeed before we stood on a zero per cent council tax increase - that would be our position for the future.’

Patrick Davies,

Labour candidate for St Bartholomew's ward said that residents have been missing a Labour voice in the council for years.

'The Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives both run the council but the truth of the matter is that both of them have failed to deliver on a whole lot of issues,' he said.

'‘They don’t get a serious challenge which, when we had a Labour group on the council, were able to do.

‘The issue of housing is a desperate situation across the whole district because house prices are so absurdly high.’

Malcolm Wallace, Green Party candidate for Central Meon Valley said his party is all about 'fairness and community, while protecting the places we live and the people we care about'.

'These values are resonating with communities up and down the country. Across England and Wales, there are now over 460 elected Green councillors, a number set to rise on 5th May.

'Other candidates are told how to vote by their Party, Greens are free to speak up for what’s best for our area, including defending our green spaces against overdevelopment.’