Fareham Borough Council sees Conservative Party gain two seats in 'Super Thursday' election results
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The Conservative Party took Stubbington and Fareham South from two councillors who had stood as part of a group of independent candidates.
Councillor Sean Woodward, Conservative group leader and council leader, said the wins were ‘absolutely fantastic’.
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Hide AdHe said: 'I am so pleased that only have do we retain our seats and return Fareham South to the fold, but we have also gained Stubbington, a seat that we have not held for many years.’
The politician said that councillors should now focus on two key projects - the promise of thousands of homes in the Welborne Garden Village and thousands of jobs at Solent Airport.
Newly elected Councillor Pal Hayre, who also retained her seat on Hampshire County Council, took the Stubbington seat from Carolyn Heneghan, a Fareham Independent Group candidate.
It is the third time Cllr Hayre has tried to win in the ward.
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Hide AdCllr Hayre, who has lived in the Stubbington area for 25 years, said: 'My team have worked so hard to make this possible. And for the last four years I have been on Hampshire County Council and I feel that I have really shown the residents how committed I am to the area.’
The new councillor is committed to taking up residents' long-standing concerns about the strategic gap and anti-social behaviour.
She said: 'I am very aware residents have put their trust in me.'
In Fareham South, Conservative Nick Gregory took the seat from former Conservative Keith Barton, who broke with the local party last year after decrying Cllr Woodward’s leadership.
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Hide AdThe former councillor had stood as part of the Fareham Independent Group, a loosely affiliated group of councillors formed after Councillor Leslie Keeble left the Conservatives in March, 2020, after more than 20 years of party membership.
Despite the loses, the group was left feeling positive after picking up thousands of votes across the borough and coming second in some areas, according to candidate Jeannie Wigmore.
She said: ‘We believe party politics should be left to national elections and councils should be run by the residents for the residents.
‘We have taken inspiration from Frome Independent Party that now control that council and have created an inclusive, resilient and participative community.’
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Hide AdIt comes as the Conservatives take control of councils across the country in historically Labour-voting areas, as well as winning a historic victory in a by-election in Hartlepool.
In Fareham, those from opposing political parties said Conservative wins across the country and locally was a case of the party 'riding on the coat-tails' of the NHS Covid-19 vaccine roll-out.
Councillor Roger Price, group leader of the Liberal Democrats on Fareham Borough Council, said: 'Nationally the mood is that people have voted Conservative because of what they have been doing over the past few months with vaccinations.
‘If you look before that, they made a complete mess of how they have handled things.'
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Hide AdThe vice-chairman of the Fareham Labour Party, Richard Ryan, agreed, and said that the Conservatives had gained 'a lot of credit' for the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out.
He added that the party is 'still suffering from the Corbyn effect'.
He said: 'When you look at the general election result, we have a mountain to climb - and you don't climb a mountain in a year.'
Conservative group leader Councillor Sean Woodward believes these considerations are being overstated by other parties.
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Hide Ad'People know that Conservatives give the best value and services', he said.
'This has been a local election, fought on local issues. The Conservatives have fought a clean and truthful and accurate election.'
The results in Fareham are as follows:
Warsash
Mike Ford (Conservative) - 1746
Jim Palmer (Lib Dem) - 355
Anthony Ferraro (Lab) - 312
Conservative hold.
Majority - 1391
Sarisbury
Joanne Bull (Con) - 1529
Geoffrey Townley (Ind) - 417
Peter Davison (Lib Dem) - 335
James Webb (Lab) - 245
Conservative hold.
Majority - 1,112
Fareham South
Nick Gregory (Con) – 802
Andrew Mooney (Lab) – 361
Keith Barton (Ind) – 238
James Fowler (Liberal Democrats) – 194
Nick Lyle (Green) – 150
Conservative win.
Majority – 441
Fareham East
Katrina Trott (Lib Dem) – 1,204
Stephen Ingram (Conservative) – 950
Gemma Oughton (Labour) – 296
Paul Sturgess (Independent) – 105
Liberal Democrats hold.
Majority – 254
Fareham North
Louise Clubley (Con) – 1121
Jeannie Wigmore (Ind) – 536
Ciaran Urry-Tuttiett (Lib Dem) – 206
Nicholas John Knight (Lab) – 205
David Barton Harrison (Green) – 178
Conservative hold.
Majority – 585
Fareham North West
Fred Birkett (Con) – 1009
Jan Mondey (Ind) – 309
Gemma Furnivall (Lab) – 305
Dominic Leung Yan Wong (Lib Dem) – 181
Conservative hold.
Majority – 700
Fareham West
Tina Ellis (Con) – 1,571
Rowena Rose Palmer (Lib Dem) – 311
Verden Alluin Meldrum (Lab) – 228
John Peter Vivian (Green) – 149
Steve Richards (Reform UK) – 87
Conserative hold.
Majority – 1.260
Hill Head
Kay Mandry (Con) – 1,720
David Hamilton (Lib Dem) – 710
Ivan Gray (Lab) – 292
Gerald Drabble (Ind) – 170
Conservative hold.
Majority – 1,010
Locks Heath
Malcolm Daniells (Con) – 1,614
Angela Carr (Lab) – 392
Darren Alderson-Hall (Lib Dem) – 318
Conservative hold.
Majority – 1,222
Park Gate
Simon Martin (Con) – 1,440
Angela Carr (Lab) – 396
Graham Everdell (Lib Dem) – 366
Bob Murphy (Independent) – 276
David Smith (Workers Party of Britain) – 63
Conservative hold.
Majority – 1044
Portchester East
Jean Kelly (Lib Dem) – 1,569
Melojane Herbert (Con) – 1,417
Richard Ryan (Lab) – 402
Trevor Alford (Ind) – 145
Liberal Democrats hold.
Majority – 152
Portchester West
Nicholas John Walker (Con) – 1,211
Ashley Stephen Brown (Lib Dem) – 788
Leslie Charles Ricketts (Lab) – 235
Conservative hold.
Majority – 423
Stubbington
Pal Kaur Hayre (Con) – 1,443
Jimmy Roberts (Lib Dem) – 834
Tom Fowler (Lab) – 196
Carolyn Heneghan (Ind) – 171
Conservative hold.
Majority – 609
Titchfield
Tiffany Georgina Harper (Con) – 1,579
Justin Grimley (Lib Dem) – 368
Michael Alan Prior (Lab) – 336
Conservative hold.
Majority – 1,211
Titchfield Common
Sarah Pankhurst (Con) – 1,222
Aimee White (Ind) – 431
Jam es Carr (Labour) – 271
Sandra Abrams (Liberal Democrats) – 245
Conservative hold.
Majority – 791
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