
The2018 Wokingham Borough Council election took place on Thursday 3 May 2018. That was the same day as otherUnited Kingdom local elections in order to elect members ofWokinghamUnitary Council inBerkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and theConservative Party stayed comfortably in overall control of the council.[1]
After the election, the composition of the council was:
A total of 60 candidates contested the 18 seats which were up for election.[2]
Issues in the election included:
Since the last round of elections, there had been 1 by-election in Emmbrook in 2017, which was won by the Liberal Democrats. Also, 2 Councillors had left the Conservatives, with one joining the Liberal Democrats and one standing as an Independent.
The Conservatives retained control of the council.[3] The Liberal Democrats held two out of the three seats they defended, retaining their seats in Emmbrook and Winnersh, but lost a seat in South Lake to the Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats gained 2 seats in both Hawkedon and Evendons. Labour gained 2 seats in Bulmershe and Whitegates & Norreys. The Conservatives gained 1 seat in South Lake, but lost 4 seats in Evendons, Norreys, Bulmershe & Whitegates and Hawkedon. 1 seat was held by an Independent.
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 42 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 77.7 | 45.1 | 18,325 | -7.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14.8 | 31.7 | 12,888 | +10.6 | |
| Labour | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5.5 | 18.8 | 7,624 | +5.3 | |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 247 | -5.3 | |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 1,347 | +1.3 | |
There were a total of 40,551 votes cast, including 120 spoiled ballots.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Gary Cowan | 540 | 65.6 | +65.6 | |
| Conservative | David Edmonds | 233 | 28.3 | −30.6 | |
| Labour | Chris Everett | 48 | 5.8 | +5.8 | |
| Majority | 307 | 37.3 | +4.6 | ||
| Turnout | 822 | 41% | +4.7 | ||
| Independentgain fromConservative | Swing | 17.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Carl Doran | 1,357 | 44.5 | +5.3 | |
| Conservative | Majid Nagra | 1167 | 38.2 | +2.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Nigel Harman | 371 | 12.1 | −7.6 | |
| Green | Brian O'Callaghan | 143 | 4.6 | +0.4 | |
| Majority | 190 | 6.2 | |||
| Turnout | 3047 | 43% | +1 | ||
| Labourgain fromConservative | Swing | 3.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Keith Baker | 1,298 | 66.6 | +10 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Paul Barton | 328 | 16.8 | +1.8 | |
| Labour | Ian Hills | 315 | 16.1 | +4.1 | |
| Majority | 970 | 49.8 | +8.3 | ||
| Turnout | 1947 | 44 | −31 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | 7.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Imogen Shepherd-DuBey | 1,829 | 57.2 | −2.5 | |
| Conservative | Jack Beresford | 1084 | 33.9 | +0.6 | |
| Labour | Peyman Jahromi | 274 | 8.5 | +5.5 | |
| Majority | 745 | 23.3 | −3.1 | ||
| Turnout | 3197 | 47 | +7.3 | ||
| Liberal Democratshold | Swing | -0.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Helen Power | 1,375 | 46.5 | 11.2 | |
| Conservative | Mark Ashwell | 1198 | 40.5 | −2.2 | |
| Labour | Annette Medhurst | 369 | 12.5 | −0.7 | |
| Majority | 177 | 5.9 | +0.9 | ||
| Turnout | 2952 | 41 | 9 | ||
| Liberal Democratsgain fromConservative | Swing | 4.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Daniel Sargeant | 1,086 | 57.1 | −12.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | David Cornish | 611 | 32.1 | +21.0 | |
| Green | Martyn Foss | 104 | 5.4 | −2.8 | |
| Labour | David Appleyard | 97 | 5.1 | −6.0 | |
| Majority | 475 | 25.0 | −20.2 | ||
| Turnout | 1899 | 44 | 6% | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | 4.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Simon Weeks | 978 | 55.5 | +4.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Susan Cornish | 581 | 33.0 | +12.1 | |
| Labour | Hayley Rentall | 194 | 11.0 | +1.5 | |
| Majority | 397 | 22.5 | −7.1 | ||
| Turnout | 1759 | 40 | +9.0 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | 8.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | David Hare | 1,096 | 44.8 | −3.9 | |
| Conservative | Michael Firmager | 975 | 39.8 | +1.7 | |
| Labour | Brent Lees | 369 | 15.0 | +1.8 | |
| Majority | 121 | 4.9 | −5.7 | ||
| Turnout | 2445 | 35 | 3% | ||
| Liberal Democratsgain fromConservative | Swing | -1.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Christopher Smith | 1,233 | 44.0 | −7.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Sue Smith | 1166 | 41.6 | 10.6 | |
| Labour | Timothy Lloyd | 394 | 14.0 | 3.1 | |
| Majority | 67 | 2.3 | −18.7 | ||
| Turnout | 2798 | 43.0 | 6.0% | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | 1.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Bill Soane | 1,358 | 57.7 | +4.9 | |
| Labour | Rick Lay | 525 | 22.1 | +2.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Tom McCann | 477 | 20.1 | −8.9 | |
| Majority | 833 | 35.1 | 6.1 | ||
| Turnout | 2372 | 33 | 4% | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | 2.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Guy Grandison | 1,141 | 40.9 | −5.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Tahir Maher | 885 | 31.7 | +4.3 | |
| Labour | Nadine Masseron | 750 | 26.8 | +8.2 | |
| Majority | 256 | 9.1 | −17.4 | ||
| Turnout | 2789 | 40 | 8% | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | -2.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Rachel Burgess | 1,157 | 38.1 | +23.3 | |
| Conservative | David Lee | 1084 | 35.7 | −8.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Morgan Rise | 405 | 13.3 | −3.8 | |
| Independent | Philip Cunnington | 384 | 12.6 | +7.9 | |
| Majority | 73 | 2.4 | +24.6 | ||
| Turnout | 3035 | 40 | 8% | ||
| Labourgain fromConservative | Swing | 7.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Graham Howe | 1,150 | 67.5 | +2.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Yonni Wilson | 370 | 21.7 | +6.0 | |
| Labour | Stuart Crainer | 175 | 10.2 | −1.5 | |
| Majority | 780 | 45.8 | −3.1 | ||
| Turnout | 1703 | 31% | 3 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | 4.45 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Barrie Patman | 810 | 40.2 | −22.4 | |
| Independent | Jim Freewin | 423 | 21.0 | +21.0 | |
| Labour | Marcus McDowell | 416 | 20.6 | +6.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Chris Johnson | 359 | 17.8 | +6.2 | |
| Majority | 387 | 19.2 | −29.6 | ||
| Turnout | 2011 | 31 | +4 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | -0.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jenny Cheng | 801 | 40.3 | −0.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Beth Rowland | 682 | 34.3 | +4.1 | |
| Labour | Tony Skuse | 497 | 25.0 | +9.9 | |
| Majority | 119 | 5.9 | −4.3 | ||
| Turnout | 1987 | 45 | −29 | ||
| Conservativegain fromLiberal Democrats | Swing | 1.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Stuart Munro | 553 | 68.4 | +11.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Steven Scarrott | 134 | 16.5 | +8.4 | |
| Labour | James Reid | 118 | 14.6 | 14.6 | |
| Majority | 419 | 51.8 | +16.8 | ||
| Turnout | 808 | 35 | 0.0 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | 9.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Prue Bray | 1,646 | 62.2 | +15.5 | |
| Conservative | Ethan Stacey | 695 | 26.2 | +5.6 | |
| Labour | Steve Stanton | 297 | 11.2 | −5.9 | |
| Majority | 951 | 35.9 | +21.0 | ||
| Turnout | 2644 | 36 | 1 | ||
| Liberal Democratshold | Swing | 4.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Angus Ross | 1,481 | 63.3 | −1.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jordan Montgomery | 573 | 24.5 | +16.4 | |
| Labour | Yvonne Hignell | 272 | 11.6 | −1.0 | |
| Majority | 908 | 38.8 | −11.1 | ||
| Turnout | 2336 | 38 | −11.9 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | 7.5 | |||