The Conservative Party gained their first Council seat in Bedworth for eight years thanks to local candidate Seb Gran securing victory in the Slough Ward.
Seb beat the sitting Labour Councillor after receiving 852 votes from local residents; 235 more than his nearest rival and this represented the largest ever majority for the Conservative Party in a Bedworth Ward.
Speaking after the election count at the Civic Hall, the newly elected Cllr Gran commented:
“Thank you to every resident who voted for me and all of my supporters who helped to deliver leaflets and knock on doors. It is a great feeling to win and I will now dedicate myself for working for my local community in Bedworth.”
Seb had campaigned on a number of local issues including the controversial proposals by the Labour Council to build on Bedworth Woodlands. He has pledged to oppose the plans on the Council.
Local MP Craig Tracey, who won the Parliamentary seat last year after a strong performance in Bedworth, said:
“I am absolutely delighted for Seb and the local Party, we have seen a lot of voters switching to us from Labour and good showings from the Conservatives elsewhere in Bedworth. A huge amount of work has gone into this election and I am glad that our message and campaigns are being backed up by local residents at the ballot box. We have seen significant improvements in our vote share in election results across Bedworth over the last four years. I think it shows that residents believe in our message and are becoming disillusioned with the Council.”
Labour held on to control of the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, however they lost a number of seats to the Conservatives and also saw an 11% swing of votes to the Tories across the Borough.