VOTERS head to the polls in the Cotswolds on May 4 to elect their representatives on the district council.
All of the 34 seats which make up Cotswold District Council will be contested in this year’s elections.
The Liberal Democrat group currently has an overall majority on the council after taking control from the Conservatives in 2019.
The current political makeup of the council is 18 Liberal Democrats, 14 Conservatives, one Independent and one Green Party councillor.
The major political parties have set out below their priorities for the district. And a list of all the candidates is also below.
CONSERVATIVE PARTY
We have very positive plans for the Cotswold District, based on value for money, efficiency and easing the burden on residents whilst building on existing community activities.
The immediate improvements include:
Focusing on improving the core services delivery.
Bringing back ‘Free after three’ parking.
Returning cash as a payment option for parking
Freezing green bin and parking charges
Intermediate plans will result from full reviews of:
The financial position.
The current Corporate Plan (whilst drawing up our own new plan).
The current Community Support activity and any plans to deal with anti-social behaviour.
Longer term we will be looking to re-build our small housing stock which has been seriously eroded over the last seven years.
In support of all this we will listen to what people have to say and return some of the democratic principles that have been eroded over the last few years.”
GREEN PARTY
Green Party candidates believe Cotswold residents deserve better public services from their councils and that too many rural communities, particularly in the North Cotswolds, are still left behind Cirencester.
They want Cotswold District Council to do all it can, within its own powers, to respond to the challenges of both today and the future.
If elected, Green councillors say they would ensure the current council tax reduction scheme is generous and accessible for residents on low to middle incomes. They would also continue work on tackling the climate emergency and mitigating the cost of living.
This includes prioritising affordable community-led housing initiatives; ensuring homes are built to a high energy specification and energy bills are minimised long-term. Green councillors also pledge to expand the planting and management of wildflower areas on council land and strive for even higher recycling rates of residential waste.
All of the Green Party candidates live within the Cotswold District. They age from 29 upwards and come from a mixture of backgrounds, including science, engineering, logistics, finance and the charity sector. They have also been involved in community initiatives around the area from setting up repair cafes, to running baby and toddler groups, to being trustees.
Green Party candidates have the local knowledge and professional skills required to be enthusiastic and effective councillors. Unlike all other major parties, Green Party councillors are not subject to a ‘party whip’ and represent their local communities before party interests.
LABOUR PARTY
The Lib Dem and Conservative parties have been in control of Cotswold District Council for years.
It is time for a change. A Labour voice is needed to make things better, bring new ideas to the council and support people and local businesses to help them thrive.
We come with a practical, can-do and constructive approach to local government, working with local people to better reflect local priorities, improve life chances for all and ensure that nobody gets left behind.
Our candidates pledge to protect the beautiful places we live in, to continue work on green initiatives and to ensure that all planning applications for new housing provide enough affordable and sustainable homes for local people to settle and are in keeping with the character of our area.
We advocate improving and creating better services in our towns and villages which have been run down by years of Conservative cuts.
We need an improved local transport system – bus services that allow our communities to travel to schools, towns and villages easily and reliably and to cut unnecessary car journeys plus new cycle and walking routes which do not depend on driving.
Our focus is on helping young people and older members of our community by providing additional recreational services and creative opportunities locally, more affordable housing and better public transport.
We want better care and local support services for those suffering isolation and for older people too.
So it’s time for change in the Cotswolds. Labour can offer an alternative which brings fresh ideas and practical solutions.
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
The Liberal Democrats are fighting to save our services. The Cotswolds has been hit hard by years of funding cuts from the Conservative Government and their handling of the cost of living crisis has made life a lot harder for many residents.
Our NHS services have been cut at Cirencester and North Cotswolds Hospitals and our local Councils too have faced the Government’s spending axe with 60% of Cotswold District Council’s funding slashed since 2010, leaving services facing reductions or potentially being withdrawn altogether.
A vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to elect a hard-working local councillor and to send the Government a clear message that we won’t be taken for granted.
Since 2019 the Liberal Democrats have a strong record of delivery at Cotswold District Council. This includes delivering 441 affordable homes across the area many of these for social rent, raising over £600,000 for local projects and good causes via the ‘Crowdfund Cotswold’ scheme and creating over 500 new private sector jobs via our green economic growth strategy. All this while keeping council tax the 4th lowest in the South West.
Under the Lib Dems a review of the district’s local development plan is underway to make it ‘green to the core’ and the council is the 10th best district council in the country for recycling.
A vote for the Lib Dems is a vote to continue this record of delivery.”
Here are all of the candidates standing for elections at the Cotswold District Council this year
Abbey
Mark Harris – Liberal Democrat
Hughes Erin Elisabeth Jeffrey – Green Party
Jackie Tarleton – Conservative Party
Blockley
Sue Jepson – Conservative Party
Clare Victoria Turner – Green Party
Bourton Vale
Joe Eastoe – Green Party
George Antony Fenton – Liberal Democrats
Len Wilkins – Conservative Party
Bourton Village
Madan Samuel – Conservative Party
John Brian Wareing – Liberal Democrats
Campden Vale
Gina Blomefield – Conservative Party
Danny Loveridge – Liberal Democrats
Rupert James Potter – Liberal Democrats
Tom Stowe – Conservative Party
Chedworth and Churn Valley
Paul Richard Hodgkinson – Liberal Democrats
Shaun David Edward Parsons – Conservative Party
Chesterton
Peter Braidwood – Conservative Party
Roly Hughes – Liberal Democrats
Michael Leslie Poole – Green Party
Coln Valley
John Anthony David Fowles – Conservative Party
Tristan James Wilkinson – Liberal Democrats
Ermin
Julia Charlotte Pontifex Judd – Conservative Party
Ed Smith – Liberal Democrats
Fairford North
Tom Dutton – Conservative Party
James Edward Nicholls – Heritage Party Keep Our Countryside Green
Michael Jeremy Bernard Vann – Liberal Democrats
Fossebridge
David Cunningham – Conservative Party
Anthony Robin McGarel-Groves – Liberal Democrats
Four Acres
Ray Brassington – Liberal Democrats
Rob Gibson – Conservative Party
Grumbolds Ash with Avening Ward
Tony Slater – Conservative Party
Joanna Walker – Liberal Democrats
Kemble
Tony Berry – Conservative Party
Mike McKeown – Liberal Democrats
Charlotte Elizabeth Smith – Independent
Lechlade, Kempsford and Fairford South Ward
Stephen Ian Andrews – Conservative Party
Esme Hazel Margaret Barlow Hall – Labour Party
Helen Mansilla – Liberal Democrats
Clare Elizabeth Muir – Liberal Democrats
Trevor Frederick Smith – Labour Party
Steve Trotter – Conservative Party
Moreton East
Chas Allen – Independent
Sue Berry – Green Party
Tom Bradley – Conservative Party
David Angus Grant Jenkinson – Liberal Democrats
Moreton West
Daryl John Corps – Conservative Party
Bob Eastoe – Green Party
Craig Andrew Thurling – Liberal Democrats
New Mills
Claire Jane Bloomer – Liberal Democrats
Lynn Eileen Hilditch – Conservative Party
Northleach
Bella Amory – Conservative Party
Tony Dale – Liberal Democrats
Hannah Ruth Greyson-Gaito – Green Party
Sandywell
Alan James McLellan – Liberal Democrats
Jeremy Edward Thayer – Conservative Party
Siddington and Cerney Rural
Richard Edward Davies – Conservative Party
Mike Evemy – Liberal Democrats
South Cerney Village
Juliet Mary Layton – Liberal Democrats
Helen Jean Rachel – Conservative Party
St Michael’s
Joe Harris – Liberal Democrats
Chris Vaughan – Conservative Party
Stow
Dilys Jane Neill – Liberal Democrats
David Allan Thorpe – Conservative Party
Agnieszka Anna Wright – Independent
Tetbury East and Rural
Nikki Ind – Independent
Jenny Knight – Conservative Party
Stratton
Patrick Charles Bourne Coleman – Liberal Democrats
Bob Irving – Green Party
Jill Rixon – Conservative Party
Gunther Strait – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Tetbury Town
Simon Bye – Labour Party
Stephen Gartland Hirst – Conservative Party
Ann Patricia Pearce – Independent
Ian David Watson – Liberal Democrats
Tetbury with Upton
Peter Martin Coleman – Conservative Party
Kevin David Painter – Independent
Christopher Charles Twells – Liberal Democrats
Michael Graeme Wagner – Green Party
The Ampneys and Hampton
Lottie Goldstone – Conservative Party
Lisa Claire Spivey – Liberal Democrats
The Beeches
Adam Richard Limb – Conservative Party
Nigel Philip Robbins – Liberal Democrats
Lucy Elizabeth Schlappa – Green Party
The Rissingtons
Andrew Murray Maclean – Green Party
Esther Michelle Trinder – Conservative Party
Watermoor
Gary Martyn Selwyn – Liberal Democrats
Jayne Mackenzie Vaughan – Conservative Party
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