Central Beds Council leader blames Westminster Tories for local election losses

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He also accepts there were some local issues concerning residents

The Parliamentary Conservative Party should shoulder much of the blame for local election losses suffered by the Tories, according to the leader of Central Bedfordshire Council.

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Conservative Arlesey councillor Richard Wenham pointed the finger at Westminster in his assessment of the outcome at the polls, while accepting there were some local issues concerning residents too.

With his party now the main opposition group, after losing overall control of Central Bedfordshire Council, he expects the majority Independents to form a new administration.

Cllr Richard WenhamCllr Richard Wenham
Cllr Richard Wenham

“I’m extremely disappointed with the result and I feel for the dedicated councillors who didn’t get elected,” said councillor Wenham.

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“The Conservative Party in Westminster needs to take a huge share of the blame for the loss of councils across the country.

“The outcome was heavily influenced by national political issues and some local. I noticed my ward vote was significantly down too.

“It seems essentially the voters wanted to express their frustrations with the Conservative Party and use the local elections as the outlet to do it.

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“It’s a very fluid situation within the local authority. The independents will try and form an administration given the overall result.

“We’ve a fragmented council now. We’ll be the largest opposition group by a considerable margin and will look to work with the new administration.”

Asked about CBC’s finances, he explained: “The budget was fixed by the previous council and signed off in full. It built on the previous year’s council tax rise which was below inflation.

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“We’ve a track record of keeping council tax low. I reject any claims from elsewhere that it was a political budget. It was an opportunity to give a little bit back at a time of a rising cost of living.

“It’s difficult to speculate on current CBC projects. The M1/A6 link road would enable a substantial amount of housing as well as jobs via the rail freight terminal.

“It would be a significant benefit to the area and local community at large. The housing would have to be provided elsewhere. The road is self-funded with no CBC money. The capital budget will be reviewed again in due course.

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“We’ll proceed in a constructive manner and attempt to push forward things contained in our election manifesto and hold the new administration to account.”

On the chances of regaining seats in four years’ time, he reflected: “It’s far too early to talk about that when we’re only a week after the election. We’ll need to see how everything develops across the country.

“I’ve been in touch with those who lost their seats and with the other good candidates who were standing for the Conservative Party, but were unsuccessful,” added councillor Wenham.

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“We want to ensure they stay engaged for the future. There were quite a few surprises with a significant loss of experience in some areas locally.

“We’ll look to see what happens now. It should be an interesting few months ahead.”

He appeared to rule out trying to remain as CBC leader, saying: “The Independents are the minority administration. It’s clear the electorate sent us a message and we’ll respect the will of local residents.”