Tories Lose Overall Control of GBC – Election Results As They Were Announced

Published on: 3 May, 2019
Updated on: 8 May, 2019

The drama exceeded expectations at the borough council election count yesterday (May 3, 2019) and the Guildford result is one of many shocks demonstrating the depth of the Conservative rout across the country.

The Tories have lost control of Guildford Borough Council for the first time since 1999. They won only nine seats worse than the most pessimistic predictions and their worst result since Guildford Borough Council was formed in 1974.

No party now has overall control. The Liberal Democrats are the largest party while R4GV are obviously amazed at their own success. The party was only formed in January and have won 15 seats from a standing start, even though they fielded only 17 candidates.

Final result: Con 9; Lib Dem 17; R4GV 15; GGG 4; Lab 2; Green 1. Although the Lib Dems are now the biggest group at Millmead but could be outmuscled if R4GV and the GGG team up.

The results as they came in:

The Lib Dems (Liz Hogger) held Effingham (one seat), easily defeating a GGG challenge.

Conservatives, Jo Randall and Andrew Gomm (formerly Ash South & Tongham) held Ash Wharf (two seats). Were predictions of a major upset exaggerated?

George Potter wins for the Lib Dems in Burpham.

First change – Lib Dems Ted Mayne and George Potter win the two Burpham seats from the Conservatives.

R4GV wins Lovelace (one seat). Seat won by Colin Cross formerly Ind Alliance his sole Tory opponent could not even attract a hundred votes.

Conservatives, Nigel Manning and Marsha Mosley, hold the two Ash Vale seats.

R4GV’s Paul Abbey wins one of the three Ash South and Tongham seats. Tories retain two. Council Leader Paul Spooner hangs on to third place by just 40 votes behind new Conservative candidate a former residents group chairman Graham Eyre.

Cllr Paul Spooner

Cllr Spooner, who retained his seat in Ash and Tongham, said: “It’s going to be a difficult day for the Conservatives and we are going to lose some very good councillors.

“I don’t want to sound negative but some of the R4GV, some of their promises can’t be delivered and we’ll have to hold them to account. The Local Plan can’t be overturned other than by the courts. There is no doubt the national issues have affected the count. I don’t think we will retain overall control. I think we will get about 21 seats.”

Conservatives hold Normandy. Incumbent David Bilbe, asked if he thought the Conservatives were going to lose control, said: “Good ideas are good ideas. Party issues will be secondary regardless of party divides.”

Cllr Caroline Reeves

A clean sweep for the Lib Dems in Friary & St Nicolas, taking them back to their pre-2015 position in the ward. Among the winners is Caroline Reeves the leader of the Lib Dem group at Millmead. Also retaining her seat is Angela Goodwin. Newbie is Tom Hunt.

Two R4GV candidates and one GGG [Guildford Greenbelt Group] win Clandon & Horsley attracting 80% of the vote. Catherine Young who topped the poll with nearly 3,000 votes in a turnout of over 55% said: “I am overwhelmed!” Asked how she will work with her R4GV ward colleagues, she added: “GGG has worked closely with R4GV so far and that has shown in the vote.”

Clandon & Horsley result – GBC

Cllr Susan Parker

Former Tory leader, Tony Rooth beats the Conservative candidate in Pilgrims (Wanborough, Seale, Puttenham and Shackleford) in a two-horse race.

Susan Parker and her GGG colleague Patrick Sheared trounced their opponents to hold on to Send with a big majority.

Susan Parker says: “This is a good result for the residents of Guildford.”

Send result – GBC

Joss Bigmore wins in Christchurch beating Tory deputy leader.

Biggest Tory scalp so far in the Christchurch result where the GBC deputy, Matt Furniss loses his seat to the new R4GV party leader Joss Bigmore whose R4GV colleague also won.

Another Tory defeat, this time in Shalford where the GGG candidate Ramsay Nagaty and the R4GV candidate, Chris Blow, win, defeating, on the way, the Mayor of Guildford Mike Parsons.

Conservative Gordon Jackson holds Pirbright. Low turnout here, just 29%. The turnout in many seats was over 40%, higher than expected.

But the trouncing of Tories continues in Holy Trinity and it is not the Lib Dems here, as some expected, who are picking up the pieces. R4GV win all three seats in a four-way contest. Included in the winning team are father and daughter John and Maddy Redpath who are joined by GVG chairman John Rigg.

Holy Trinity Result – GBC

Angela Gunning

There was no respite for the Tories. Concern had turned to dismay, now it was disbelief as they lost all three of their seats in Merrow, including two Executive members Graham Ellwood and Philip Brooker. The Lib Dems pick up two seats with Cengiz Harwood and Steven Lee and it was another success for R4GV whose sole candidate, Deborah Seabrook, topped the poll with 1,700 votes, a margin of 700 over the runner-up. As in some other wards there was the obvious question, what if R4GV had had a full complement of candidates?

Labour hold their two seats in Stoke, one of which is retained by veteran councillor Angela Gunning, the other by James Walsh but it was to be there only success.

Three Lib Dems elected in Onslow, old hand David Goodwin is joined by newbies John Askew and Will Salmon. Conservatives lose their only seat in the ward.

Stoughton is another one seat loss for the Conservatives, as Lib Dems increase their holding from two to three seats. Winners are incumbents Pauline Searle and Gillian Harwood who are joined by Masuk Miah.

In Westborough, Conservatives lose the two windfall seats they gained in the 2015 Tory surge and the Ward becomes solid Lib Dem with incumbent Julia McShane joined by county councillor for Guildford West Fiona White and student James Steel, believed to be the youngest councillor now at GBC. Labour hopes for a gain here came to nothing.

The coup de gras for the Conservatives was applied by the Worplesdon result, The Conservatives lost all three seats to the R4GVs including Bob McShee, a member the Tories had deselected. He had been quietly confident from the start of the count, more confident than his party colleagues who were finding it hard to accept the scale of their victory. The win here must be especially sweet for Cllr McShee and he is joined by his wife Elisabeth and Ruth Brothwell.

But the Conservatives finish by hanging on to one of their Tillingbourne seats for the soon-to-be mayor Richard Billington the other seat going to a Green candidate Diana Jones. As the close count and recount for his ward was underway, Cllr Billington had been worried that all his preparation for his mayoral year was going to be left in tatters, as it would have been had he lost.

All detailed results can be found on the GBC website here.

See also: Party Leaders Interviewed in the Wake of Dramatic Council Election

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