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Election 2019 |News


Lib DemFran to stand down


FORMER Liberal Democrat councillor Fran Wilson is step- ping down fromMaidstone Bor- ough Council after 24 years. Cllr Wilson was twice elected


leader of the local authority. The 76-year-old was leader


briefly from2007 to 2008 andwas elected again in 2015. She was in charge of the Lib


Dem group which guided through the Local Plan which committed Maidstone to 17,600 more homes in the first tranche of house-building. Her High Street ward will be


fought by Nepalese-born Dinesh Khadka, butCllrWilson admits it may be hard to hang on to. A population explosion, high


resident turnover and influx of Londoners may all impact on the already traditionally lowturnout, she said. She added: “Turnout has been


abysmal, but the reason we have three LibDemcouncillors there is because of damned hard work year in and year out. “This year’s election will be in-


teresting, and who knows what will happen.” Congestion, development and


air quality will be factors which come into play, said CllrWilson. She added: “I have served on


every committee, been leader of the council twice and leader of the opposition, and I have no prob- lems in terms of personal fulfil- ment. But it is the strategic side of


thework that I have beenmost in- terested in. “I am 77 in June and my hus-


band is 83 in November, so nei- ther of us is exactly in the upswing of our lives and I feel I have servedmy time. Iwant to go when people still think I have got half a brain.” Cllr Wilson was succeeded by


fellowLiberalDemocratCllrMar- tin Cox, who is in charge of a Lib Dem, Labour and independent al- liance. Leader of the conservative op-


position group at the town hall, Cllr John Perry, said he would miss CllrWilson in the chamber. He added: “She has been a very


worthy opponent and is a hugely experienced and dedicated ser- vant to the borough. I will cer- tainly miss her and I know colleagueswill, too.”


A tough bale ahead


THE 2015 result in High Street, whichCllr FranWilsonwonwith amajority of just 117 (3%),might suggest it is a Tory target. The sizeable presence (21%) of


Ukip in 2015 and a theoretical re- distribution of the vote to the To- ries and Labourwould also point to an easy Conservative victory. But several factors indicate the


Tories face aHerculean task. A Conservative insider told us:


“In 2018, the Lib Dems’ Clive English (pictured) won the same ward by 16%. The population has mushroomed from 6,000 to more than7,000 andthedemographic is against us. “There are a lot of singlemums with children under five, tran-


sient bedsit residents and others who are simplynot engagedor in- terested. “Add in Brexit and the fact that


we’re not popular at the moment means we have probably got no chance.”


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