The small borough of Oadby and Wigston, which covers some 9 square miles and has a population of approximately 56 000, has a long history of bucking the trend where elections are concerned. For the past 20 years the Liberal Democrats have, overwhelmingly, held control of the local Council with 22 of the 26 seats. In 2011, against all odds, Oadby and Wigston Council increased its number of Liberal Democrat Councillors from 19 to 22 and a clean sweep of all 5 County Council seats being retained by the Liberal Democrats, during the 2013 elections.
Residents of the Borough of Oadby and Wigston showed their support and appreciation for the hard work of the Liberal Democrats with a resounding victory at the ballot box. In all 5 County Council Divisions the Liberal Democrats took almost 50% of the votes.
Targeted, in the past, by both Labour and the Conservatives, the 2013 elections in Oadby and Wigston saw Labour, Conservatives and UKIP brushed aside as the votes were counted at the Parklands Leisure Centre in Oadby. First to be declared was the Liberal Democrat hold on South Wigston by Bill Boulter, closely followed by Wigston Bushloe hold by Liberal Democrat Michael Charlesworth and the Wigston Poplars hold by Liberal Democrat County Councillor Helen Loydall. All three candidates pushed UKIP into a very poor second place with the Conservatives trailing in third and fourth place. The two Oadby Liberal Democrat candidates, Dean Gamble and Jeffrey Kaufman, successfully defeated a desperate Conservative campaign and made it a clean sweep for the Liberal Democrats with 5 out of 5 Liberal Democrats at County Hall in Leicestershire.
As local Liberal Democrat Councillors, we are always reminded of the consistent hard work, at the grassroots level, of local campaigners who work tirelessly for their local party as they believe that they can make a difference to people’s lives. We, here in Oadby and Wigston, also believe that Liberal Democrats listen and talk to their residents, consult with all residents and then act accordingly. We would like to thank our residents for their votes and their trust in the Liberal Democrat Councillors, which is something that we shall never take for granted.
Helen Loydall is a Liberal Democrat councillor on both Oadby & Wigston Borough Council and Leicestershire County Council. If you would like to submit a Comment piece for ALDC, based either on good local practice/results or a reaction to a policy/political issue, please contact ALDC Communications Officer Craig Whittall.