News | Elections 2016
downsmail.co.uk Lib Dems triumph in elections
THE Liberal Democrats have se- cured a firmer foothold in the bor- ough after the May 5 council elections. The party gained two seats and
have retianed control of the au- thority. The Tories remain the largest party in the council cham- ber with 23 seats while the Lib Dems have 22. Lib Dem Fran Wil- son has been confirmed as the new leader in an alliance with other smaller parties to keep the Conser- vatives out of power. That agree- ment was formalised on May 21 at the annual general meeting. Her appointment will come as no surprise to council observers. Leader FranWilson said: “Over-
all itwas a good day for the Liberal Democrats and we can have no complaints. “I am delighted for the young people, including four women, who were elected. You need the older experienced hands as well as the younger people coming through.” The contest of the day was played out in Coxheath and Hunton, where 23-year-old former Invicta Grammar School pupil Emily Fermor took the seat from the Tories by a single vote. It took four recounts to establish the result
The new council The new make-up of the council is:
Conservative 23 (-2) Independent 5 (-1) Labour 2 Lib Dems 22 (+2) UKIP 3 (+1)
and Miss Fermor was declared the winner by 798 votes to 797, beating Ron Leagas. The jubilant victor de- clared on Twitter: “Hugest thanks to the local residents of Coxheath, Hunton, East Farleigh, West Far- leigh for electing me as your bor- ough councillor.” Her victory earned her a congrat- ulatory message from her old school. CllrWilson added: "To take Cox-
heath and Hunton from the Tories was a delight and a little bit of a surprise as it was very, very close. Across the whole election we re- tained all the seats and we gained two more which is a good result." Despite her national party's re-
cent difficulties, the Lib Dems re- main "very strong" in this part of Kent, she said.
Many eyes were on Bearsted
where the defeated candidate for the Tory nomination stood against
Lib Dem winners: Georgina Harvey (BridgeWard), Emily Fermor (Cox- heath and Hunton) also pictured left, Lib Dem leader Fran Wilson, Paul Wilby (South), Michelle Hastie (North) and Diana Lewins (Allington)
his party as an independent. How- ever, the official candidate Mike Revell squeezed in over Denis Spooner by 899 votes to 840. Mr Revel said: “Fifty-odd votes in a local election is a reasonable mar- gin – we certainly weren’t in re- count territory. “I had a very good team to help
me and they deserve a lot of the credit.” In Shepway South, UKIP’s Eddie
Powell comfortably snatched the seat from Labour. UKIP now has three seats on the council, up one.
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Maidstone East June 2016
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