Conservatives hold county council (From Bucks Free Press)

Conservatives hold county council

8:18am Friday 5th June 2009

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THE Conservatives have held Buckinghamshire County Council after all seats went up for election today.

The party increased one seat to 46 while the Liberal Democrats lost one to make 11.

Labour's share of the vote fell from third last time to fourth as candidates were edged out by UKIP.

To see how events unfolded see the live text commentary below.

For a list of results click here.

Amid warnings that the expenses scandal had put people off voting, the turnout fell to 40.1 per cent from 64.9 per cent at the last county election in 2005, when there was a general election.

The last local election, for Wycombe District Council in 2007, had a turnout of 34.6 per cent.

Compared to the last poll in 2005 the Conservatives dropped their share of the vote by 0.6 per cent to 49.2 per cent.

The Lib Dems went from 32.8 per cent to 28.1 per cent.

Labour fell from third to fourth as UKIP got 13.5 per cent, a massive rise from last time’s showing of 0.4 per cent.

Labour got 5.9 per cent of the vote, down from 15.9 per cent in 2005, where it won two seats. These members later defected to the Lib Dems and held their seats for the party today.

Greens went from 0.3 to 1.1 per cent, independent candidates went from 0.2 to 1.8 per cent while the BNP, standing for the first time, got 0.4 per cent.

The Conservatives have held the council since it was formed in 1973.

There was no change in the political balance in Wycombe and Chiltern districts while South Bucks lost a Liberal Democrat as all eight seats went Tory.

Lib Dem Alan Oxley lost Iver for South Bucks to go blue. For all the news from the Beaconsfield count click here..

Tory Steven Adams, who hit headlines after being attacked while out canvassing, lost Chesham North West by 37 votes to Lib Dem Michael Brand. In 2005 Mr Adams beat Mr Brand by 30 votes.

Yet Mohammed Bhatti beat the Lib Dems for the Tories in Chesham East to keep the political balance the same as 2005 in Chiltern.

For all the news from Chiltern click here..

There was tension at the High Wycombe count in the town hall as the last division to be called was that of council leader David Shakespeare, who the Lib Dems had campaigned to oust.

He held the seat and told Bucks Free Press: “I am delighted to be back working for my residents of the county council.

“We want to continue working hard for our residents for another four years.

“The most difficult challenge in the next four years will be finding the money to continue providing good quality services for our residents.”

He said he expected “bad news” from the Government over Ministers’ cash grant to the council. Its services include schools, social services and roads and pavements.

Cllr Shakespeare said: “The problem is delivering quality services within big reductions in cash.”

Tories will meet in Aylesbury at 7pm to elect a leader for the next term.

For election news click here.

1705 RESULT: Council leader David Shakespeare retains his seat along with fellow Tory division member Peter Cartwright for Ryemead, Tylers Green & Loudwater. This means none of the 19 seats in Wycombe division have changed hands with the Tories on 17 and the Lib Dems on two. Cllrs Shakespeare and Cartwright got 1,955 and 2,077 to Lib Dems’ 1,399 and 1,377 for Ray Farmer and Trevor Snaith. The two hoped to pick up the seat. UKIP got 401 and 348 and the British National Party got 183. Cllr Cartwright told the audience: “It was a very very hard fight, I personally knocked 2,528 doors. It proved worthwhile in the end.” The division went through a nail-biting recount. Cllr Shakespeare said: “Let’s hope Gordon Brown doesn’t take as long to call a General Election.” He added: “I would like to thank all the residents within my county division who have the sense to vote for a well run county council.”

1645 RESULT: Conservatives convincingly hold Marlow with 2,653 and 2,710 votes for sitting councillor Doug Anson and new member Richard Scott. Lib Dems are second with 1,660 and 1,688 votes then UKIP with 466 and 651, then Labour with 346 and 256 and then British National Party with 163. Only Ryemead, Tylers Green & Loudwater division remains where tension is high as the Lib Dems hope to oust Tory council leader David Shakespeare and councillor Peter Cartwright. So far no seats have changed hands in the district. So far Conservatives have 15 seats and the Lib Dems have two.

1635 RESULT: The best showing of the day in Wycombe for Labour as the party comes second in Downley, Disraeli, Oakridge and Castlefield. Conservatives Wendy Mallen and  Zahir Mohammed hold the seat with 2,079 and 2,196 votes while Labour’s Mohammed Hanif and Ian Bates get 1,261 and 997 votes. Mr Hanif said: “I think whatever happened the best candidate won.”  Cllr Mallen said: “There was a strong Asian vote, a good Asian turnout and that showed up in the mixed vote.”

1625 RESULT: Wycombe Conservatives hold two seats in Thames division. There are three divisions left comprising six seats. In Thames Mike Appleyard and David Watson were re-elected with 2,864 and 2,469. Other parties were the Lib Dems with 1,382 and 1,268, the Green Party with 681, UKIP with 538 and 536, and the British National Party’s Matthew Tait with 310.

16.10 RESULT: Independent candidate Graham Smith, who partly stood on an anti-incinerator platform, did not take the seat in The Chalfonts and Seer Green. He took 586 votes, while Tory rivals Timothy Butcher and Martin Tett won the post with 3,451 and 3,112 seats respectively.

David Schofield also helped maintain the Tory dominance with 2,199 votes in the Penn, Coleshill and Holmer Green division, beating his closest rival, Lib Dem Bob Young, by more than 1,600 votes.

1555 There were sighs as Wycombe returning officer Karen Satterford announced the high stakes Ryemead, Tylers Green & Loudwater division would be recounted. The Lib Dems are trying to topple council leader David Shakespeare and fellow Tory sitting councillor Peter Cartwright. Mrs Satterford told Bucks Free Press: “It is complicated. We want to go through and clarify what we have got. It is perfectly normal to do recounts.”

1525 RESULT: Another Tory Wycombe hold as Paul Rogerson keeps Icknield and Bledlow with 2,166 votes to Lib Dem’s 560 and UKIP’s 422. No seats have changed hands so far in the district with the Conservatives on nine and Lib Dems on two. Four more seats are left. Cllr Rogerson said: “I would like to thank all the people who helped me, especially those who canvassed so well for me.”

1525 RESULT: Tension is running high in High Wycombe as the count is held for Ryemead, Tylers Green & Loudwater where the Lib Dems have worked hard to try and oust council leader David Shakespeare and Councillor Peter Cartwright. Candidates and supporters are clamouring around the tables where the votes are being counted. Returning officer Karen Satterford has just taken to the mic has just urged them not to “learn across the tables and definitely not use mobile phones” to allow counters to concentrate.

1515 RESULT: Tory dominance has continued in the Chiltern district counts. Noel Brown has kept the Tory seat for Chess Valley with 1,120 votes, more than double those of his closest rival, Lib Dem Roy Abraham, who took 538. Patricia Birchley also stormed home for the conservatives in the Chiltern Ridges division.with 1,643 votes, beating the Lib Dem Richard Williams by nearly 1,100 votes. And in the Great Missenden ward Michael Colston, another conservative candidate took 2,052 votes, more than 1,100 above those achieved by his closest rival.

1508 RESULT: The Conservatives have the clean sweep in the South Bucks region, with Ruth Vigor-Hedderly stealing the Iver division with 1,042 votes from Lib Dem Alan Oxley, who took 981. UKIP's Susan Fagan won 481 votes. Meanwhile, South Bucks District Council leader Roger Reed completed the white-wash by taking Gerrards Cross and Denham North with 1,205 votes from independent Chris Brown who won 841 votes and John Fagan from UKIP who took 310 votes. Cllr Reed said: “This is an excellent result for the Conservative party in South Bucks and expect this to be reflected across both the county and around the country. “It sends out a strong message to Gordon Brown that we need a general election – enough is enough.”

1455 RESULT: Transport chief Valerie Letheren is re-elected for the Conservatives in Terriers and Amersham Hill. Cllr Letheren, cabinet member for transportation during the last council session, got 1,204 while Lib Dem Wendy Guy got 485, UKIP’s Heather Adams got 247 and Labour’s Matthew Kitching got 228. Cllr Letheren told the audience at High Wycombe Town Hall: “A big thank-you to my husband David who has had the most difficult six weeks of our marriage and survived it”.

1446 RESULT: For the Alderbourne division Conservative William Lidgate was re-elected with 1,131 votes, UKIP Richard Fagan came second with 606 votes and Lib Dem Edwina Mitchell received 444 votes.

RESULT: Peter Hardy for the Bulstrode division was re-elected with 1,407 votes for the Conservative, Lib Dem Peter Chapman came second with 487 votes then UKIP Ken Rumens with 341 votes.

1437 RESULT: Conservatives hold Greater Hughenden as the eighth out of 14 wards are declared in Wycombe. So far no seats have changed hands with the Tories on top. Richard Pushman gets 1,877 votes to 426 for the Lib Dems, 381 for UKIP and 172 for Labour. The European Parliament turnout for the district is confirmed as 36.94 per cent.

14.35RESULT: Steven Adams, the Conservative candidate pushed off his doorstep by a furious resident last week, lost his Chesham North West seat. Michael Brand took the seat for the Lib Dems with 984 votes against Mr Adams' 947. So far this appears to be the only sitting Tory post that has been lost to another party. At the last county election Mr Brand said he missed out on the seat by just 30 votes.

Mr Brand said: "It was a very tough fought campaign. "This time I'm going to fight for a better deal for Chesham - that's what I have been elected to do. "The Conservatives treated it as the third best and we need more investment into it."

Taking the Amersham ward were Conservative candidates Martin Phillips, with 3,075 votes and Pauline Wilkinson with 2,897 votes.

14.28RESULT: Lin Hazell the Conservative councillor has held her position in Burnham Beeches, re-elected with 1,321 votes, with 383 votes Lib Dem Chris Cole came second, UKIP Peter Price received 330 votes then Labour Helen Wright with 169 votes. Stoke Poges and Farnham Common saw Conservative councillor Trever Egleton also keeps his position with 1,499 votes beating UKIP representative in second place with 391 votes, Lib Dem Jason Bingley received 310 votes and Labour Lindsey Gillan 186 votes.

14.16RESULT: Conservative councillor Mohammed Bhatti has been elected for Chesham East with 1,283 votes. He said: “It's fantastic, I'm over the moon. I'm very proud I won it with a great majority. This is because I have done hard work in the ward and I have knocked on every door.”

14.16 -RESULT: Conservatives hold onto Taplow, Dorney and Lent Rise as councillor Dev Dhillon is elected replacing Peter Smith when he did not stand. He received 1,039 votes. Lib Dem David Kenneth came second with 377 and UKIP Ken Wright closely followed with 360 votes, Labour Catherine Palasz then followed with 187 votes.

Dev Dhillon said he was very pleased at his election and has promised to focus on 'making the area safer' and 'protecting the good education system in the area'.

1405 RESULT: There have been no changes between parties in Wycombe so far. Conservative Frank Downes holds Stokenchurch, Radnage and West Wycombe with 1,368. Lib Dems got 478, UKIP 405 and Labour 205. Tory Carl Etholen takes over from Dennis Green in The Risboroughs with 1,082 followed by independent Alan Turner with 1,104. Lib Dems got 278 and UKIP 177. Mr Etholen said: “I want to pay tribute to my fellow opponents for a fantastic campaign, it was so close, it could have gone anyway. I hope we can work very closely together in the future.”

1403 - RESULT: Conservative councillor and leader of South Bucks District Council, Adrian Busby has been elected for the Beaconsfield division gaining 1,481 votes. Lib Dem Jane Hartley came second with 390 votes then UKIP Joan Martin with 313 beating Labour when they received only 100 votes. He said: “It's never over until the boxes are open, but it has been the most interesting campaign that I've been involved in on the doorstep. “Over the past three weeks people's attitudes have changed dramatically, the first ten days were total apathy and then over the last ten days people's attitudes have hardened and they have really wanted to make their voices heard. “But I'm delighted to have been elected and I hope I can represent the people of Beaconsfield and make sure their voices get heard in Ayelsbury.” Mr Busby also gave a special mention to former County Councillor Margaret Dewar who was de-elected by the Conservatives before the election.

1400 RESULT: Conservative David Carroll holds Hazlemere as the British National Party, standing for the first time for BCC, finish last with 114 votes. Cllr Carroll picks up 1,727 votes with Lib Dem David Frank second with 562 and UKIP third with 358. Cllr Carroll says: “Can I thank the public for their faith in me.”

1355 RESULT: A rumoured UKIP upset in Booker, Cressex and Sands fails to materialise. Conservative Alan Hill holds the seat with 730 votes to UKIP’s Brian Pearce’s 657. Labour’s Nigel Vickery is third with 334 while Lib Dem Paula Lee is fourth with 274. Mr Pearce said: “I am disappointed, it was close but not close enough. I think it put the wind up them enough.”

1345 - Politicians are gatheing in anticipation for the first set of results at the Chiltern count. But Graham Smith, independent candidate for The Chalfonts & Seer Green, who is opposing the county council's waste strategy, was possibly going to have to leave the count before the result was announced. He said: “The important thing is not whether I win or not, but whether we can stop this incinerator getting built.” He said whether he won was “secondary to the vote which is taken in July.”

1342 RESULT: Lib Dems hold two seats and Conservatives hold one in Wycombe district. Sitting councillors Julia Wassell and Chaudhary Ditta, who defected to the Lib Dems from Labour last year got 1,854 and 1,855 votes compared to the Conservatives’ 1,121 and 1,104. UKIP got 510 and 358 while Labour got 450 and 396. Bob Woollard holds Chiltern Valley with 1,462 votes.

1305 - A victory is predicted for UKIP’s Brian Pearce in Booker, Cressex and Sands, Wycombe. Wife Lynne says of her chances in Bowerdean, Micklefield and Totteridge: “I don’t think I will get in, they key thing is to keep the message going.” Labour’s Nigel Vickery, standing in the division prediced another last place. “We have had more abuse on the doorstep than other parties,” he said. He said he wished voters could separate local from national politics.

1253 - Turnout figures are in for south Bucks and they show a huge dip. Alderbourne division fell from 62.5 per cent to 34.12 per cent, Burnham Beeches dropped from 61.2 per cent to 35.01 per cent, while just 37.94 per cent turned out in Beaconsfield as opposed to 67.7 per cent in 2005. Bulstrode fell 66.1 per cent to 36.26 per cent, while Iver dropped to 39.29 per cent from 63.7 per cent. Farnham was 36.22 per cent from 66 per cent and Taplow 33.37 per cent from 61.2 per cent. Gerrards Cross and Denham North has just come in and it's another fall, 62.8 per cent to 39.9 per cent.

1244 RESULT: Sitting Conservative councillor for Abbey, High Wycombe, Lesley Clarke, re-elected with 1,201 votes. Lib Dem Robert Perkins second with 333 then UKIP Josuha Luke with 278 and then Labour’s Ria Ramsaran with 257. Mrs Clarke, also leader of Wycombe District Council, said: “It has been hard work but a team effort”. She said of Labour’s last position: “The Westminster element has hit them, I feel quite sorry knowing quite a few of them.” Cllr Clarke upped her share of the vote from 50.1 per cent in 2005 to 58 per cent. Wycombe Labour agent John Barlow says he is expecting a “disappointing result” for all the district.

1230 - The rest of the turnout figures have been announced for Wycombe and show more falls. Booker, Cressex and Sands went from 58.2 in 2005 to 31.89. This is 65.5/37.47 in Chiltern Valley, 60.4/37.5 in Downley, Disraeli, Oakridge and Castlefield, 73.9/44.12 in Greater Hughenden, 65.9/36.9 in Hazlemere, 68.2/40.48 in Marlow, 61.7/33.85 in Terriers and Amersham Hill, 66.5/37.88 in Thames and 67.2/39.84 in The Risboroughs.

1223 - Counts have started in Wycombe for Abbey divisions and Bowerdean, Micklefield & Totteridge so those results should be in soon. Lesley Clarke is hoping to hold onto Abbey while the Lib Dems want to retain Bowerdean, Micklefield & Totteridge. Chiltern Valley count has also started.

1219 - Cllr Peter Hardy has told the BFP that the Conservatives are confident of holding all seats in south Bucks and the party has pin-pointed Iver has an 'important seat we can win', which current seat holder, Lib Dem Cllr Alan Oxley, is 'not feeling confident' about holding Iver.

1203 Wycombe count: Chiltern Valley Lib Dem candidate Neil Timberlake thinks his division is a safe Tory seat. Yet he is confident Julia Wassell and Chaudhary Ditta will hold Bowerdean, Micklefield & Totteridge for the party despite defecting from Labour last year. And he thinks the party has a chance of taking Ryemead, Tylers Green & Loudwater from sitting Conservatives Peter Cartwright and council leader David Shakespeare. “Labour are losing heavily”. Downley, Disraeli, Oakridge and Castlefield Tory candidate Wendy Mallen said: “We have put a lot of work in but a lot of people don’t seem to go out and vote”. Sitting Hazlemere Conservative councillor David Carroll said: “Hopefully I will get back in, I am the local man, what I hear on the doorstep is that people want local politicians”.

1152 - Speaking to the Bucks Free Press, Cllr Mohammed Bhatti, conservative candidate for Chesham East said the major issues highlighted by voters have been traffic and parking concerns. He also said he thought UKIP candidates may have taken some of the traditional Tory votes in the Chesham East and Chesham North West wards.

1145 – turnout has plummeted in wards just announced at the Wycombe count. Abbey division fell from 60.2 per cent in 2005 to 32.2 per cent this year. This was 53.9 to 33.3 in Bowerdean, Micklefield and Totteridge, 71.6 to 47.3 in Icknield and Bledlow, 60.7 to 36.9 in Ryemead, Tylers Green and Loudwater and 63.4 to 33.8 in Stokenchurch, Radnage and West Wycombe. It seems the expenses scandal has damaged local politics as well as national politics. Seeming as the European Parliament count was held on the same day it is likely that will see a low turnout too.

1125- Votes are still being verified at the Chiltern district count and but no results are expected to be announced until after 12pm. The counters have been working furiously to verify the numbers of votes for the EU parliament, before they are sent off to Southampton.

1120 - The count assistants are also busy beavering away with the south Bucks votes but don't get too excited just yet – we're not expecting the verification process to be completed until lunchtime at the earliest. A few keen (or perhaps worried?) candidates have got their eagle eyes focused firmly on those verifying the votes.

1103 - ballot papers are being verified at the Wycombe count. The news that the district's MP Paul Goodman is stepping down is the talk among everyone here. Apparently some have put their European vote into the council box - and this is causing delays!

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