IN A landmark year for many councils across the country, ballots were tallied up to reveal Malvern’s new representatives on Worcestershire County Council.
The local political landscape of county and district councils is set to change a lot in the coming years as government devolution plans have prompted Worcestershire to move towards a unitary authority and bring to an end the county’s district and borough authorities.
As these changes aren’t expected to take effect until a couple of years time, council candidates across Worcestershire are vying to represent their constituents before government devolution takes a front seat.
Today, in Malvern, eight councillors were elected to represent their constituents on the county council. Seats are up for grabs in Croome, Hallow, Malvern Chase, Malvern Trinity, Malvern Langland, Malvern Link, Powick and Longdon, and Tenbury.
Voters headed to the polls yesterday (Thursday, April 1) as counts arrived this afternoon (Friday, April 2).
Malvern results
The votes have been counted for all eight Malvern divisions on Worcestershire County Council.
Green Party retained its three seats with Reform UK gaining its first ever councillor in the region.
The Liberal Democrats earned themselves two seats on the county council in Malvern with the Conservatives holding one. The last seat was gained by a long-serving Independent councillor.
Overall Worcestershire County Council results
Overall the Conservatives have lost control for the first time in decades.
Reform UK now has 27 seats on the new-look council, the Conservatives have 12, The Green Party has eight councillors, the Liberal Democrats six, Labour two and there are two independents.
Live blog
14.29pm – And the last result of the afternoon for Malvern’s county council divisions is in. Martin Allen retains his seat for the Green Party in Croome.
Martin Allen (Green Party) – 2027 – ELECTED
Juma Begum (Labour) – 38
John Drage (Liberal Democrat) – 54
Sarah McDermott (Conservative) – 497
Russ Varley (Reform UK) – 575
14.20pm – The result for Malvern Chase is in with Green Party candidate Malcolm Victory retaining his seat.
Sebastian Barbour (Conservative) – 628
Angel Chawner (Reform UK) – 507
Anna Cummins (Labour) – 98
Emma Trueman (Liberal Democrats) – 360
Malcom Victory (Green Party) – 1518 – ELECTED
14.05pm – Results are in for Malvern Langland. The Liberal Democrats have gained another seat for Malvern on the county council, taking Langland from Labour.
Paul Bennett (Liberal Democrats) – 716 – ELECTED
Simon Johnson (Green Party) – 312
Julie Maclusky (Conservative) – 488
Beverly Nielsen (Labour) – 456
Jeanette Sheen (Reform UK) – 510
Paul Bennett, a standing district councillor also, told the Observer he wanted to become elected at a county wide level as Worcestershire moves towards a unitary authority.
He understands the importance of being able to have his say and represent his constituents as the county transitions politically.
His biggest concerns and reasons for standing are to held the Malvern Hills Trust to account over its proposed legislation changes. He fears a lot needs to be done to ensure the Malvern Hills remain under democratic scrutiny. The Observer will be bringing you more coverage soon on the progress of legislation changes for Malvern Hills Trust, as we expect to work with Mr Bennett and others on this issue.
13.58pm – Results for Malvern Trinity are in with the Green Party’s Natalie McVey retaining her seat.
Brian Burdon (Labour) – 109
Jamie Cramp (Liberal Democrats) – 251
Natalie McVey (Green Party) – 1559 – ELECTED
Michael Savage (Reform UK) – 509
Graeme Stubbs (Independent) – 82
Lawrence Watkins (Conservative) – 462
13.21pm – Results for Malvern Link are in with Liberal Democrats taking this one.
Christopher Burrows (Labour) – 184
Karen Hanks (Conservative) – 685
Chris McSweeny (Liberal Democrats) – 824 – ELECTED
Andy Peplow (Reform UK) – 703
Fran Victory (Green Party) – 547
13.15pm – Next set of results are in with the Conservatives winning Hallow.
Mel Fordington (Conservative) – 858 – ELECTED
Clifford Hobbs (Liberal Democrats) – 251
Richard Kimberlee (Green Party) – 186
Sebastian Spiers (Reform UK) – 816
Daniel Walton (Labour) – 735
13.10 pm – Results for Tenbury are in! Reform UK takes its first seat within a Malvern ward.
Justin Bowen (Reform UK) – 1198 – ELECTED
Carl Fordington (Conservative) – 1072
Peter Jones (Green Party) – 314
Jed Marson (Liberal Democrats) – 341
Adam Scott (Labour) – 150
The Observer has caught up with Reform UK’s first Malvern county councillor, Justin Bowen who has taken Tenbury from the Conservatives.
Justin, who’s new to politics, is a longtime Worcestershire resident. He was encouraged by his wife to ‘get off his backside, stop complaining and do something about it’.
He said he is slightly shocked he won due to the seat being a Conservative certainty for many years but is ‘very happy, privileged and honoured.’
Despite not having political experience, he has worked in local authorities for many years and believes he understands the region and knows what needs to change. He believes in cultural reform to put ‘communities at the heart’ of everything that is done.
Personally, he is ‘willing to say the things that need to be said and do the things that need to be done to make things better’.
He touched upon needs to improve speeding, support for the elderly, flooding defences and provision for children with special educational needs.
He added: “To me those are things that matter. Whatever the national stuff, yes people have their views on those, for me this is about our community and that’s why I stood.”
13.05pm – The first result is in, with councillor Tom Wells retaining his seat in Powick and Longdon.
Paul Boatright-Greene (Liberal Democrats) – 117 votes
Glen Promnitz (Conservative) – 361 votes
Johnathan Taylor (Labour) – 75 votes
Tom Wells (Independent) – 2194 votes – ELECTED
Max Windsor-Peplow (Reform UK) – 622 votes
Tom Wells, re-elected to represent Powick, told the Observer it’s ‘very humbling’ to know people have taken the time to visit the polling station and put a cross next to his name. A feeling he says hasn’t diminished despite having served as a county councillor seven times over the last three decades.
He added the hard work begins today and he is pleased to buck the trend in Worcestershire, referring to the Conservatives’ large majority before these latest elections.
Touching upon Reform UK’s early success across Worcestershire, he fears that a Reform majority in the county could bring less experienced councillors to the forefront of decision making. He added: “The concern I have is irrespective of their politics, very few have had any experience in running a multi-million pound organisation at a time when finances are so tight.
“It worries me that the experience they clearly don’t possess may have an impact on services.
“I hope, irrespective of political allegiance, councillors of all persuasions can work together at the dying embers of Worcestershire County Council.”
12.45pm – Candidates across the count hall are waiting rather tentatively with a watchful eye over counters as results are expected to begin arriving shortly. The Standard understands that Tenbury is likely to be the first result shared.
12.13pm – The last voter turnout figure is in with 40 per cent of electorates heading to the polls in Croome.
12.04pm – Voter turnout for Malvern Trinity has come in at 36 per cent while Langland’s has come in slightly lower at 33 per cent.
11.50am – Votes are about to start being counted for the Hallow ward.
11.50am – Voter turnout for Malvern Chase has come in at 41 per cent.
11.20am – Turnout figures have arrived for some of the districts.
Hallow – 38 per cent
Powick and Longdon – 42 per cent
Tenbury – 36 per cent
Malvern Link – 36 per cent
10.20am – Verification is underway as the soft sound of rustling paper moves across the count hall.
10.05am – Andy Baldwin, Malvern Hills District Council deputy chief executive and this count’s returning officer, has welcomed counters and candidates into the count hall.
