Local Elections: Greens gain in city to make group for first time

[dutchman]

Two councillors mean the Green Party is officially recognised as a group and can put motions forward for debate



The Green Party will be recognised as a group on Coventry City Council after its second councillor was elected.

Esther Reeves won the Holbrook seat by 78 votes and along with fellow Green Stephen Gray will be able to put motions forward for debate.

There was little change for the rest of the council, where a third of the seats had been up for election with Labour defending a majority of 18.

Labour ended the night with one fewer seat while the Tories stayed the same.

Labour leader George Duggins said he was disappointed not to make gains and called the results "a mixed bag".

His party ended up with 35 councillors, but he said: "We've already got results in Coventry over a long period of time which put us in advance, probably of the Labour Party generally, nationally."

The Conservatives were defending four seats and their group leader, Gary Ridley, said: "The red wave did not materialise and for me that says the Conservatives in Coventry are in strong shape."

He also welcomed the addition of a second Green Party councillor and said: "I work constructively with the Greens."

[dutchman]

Success for Greens in Coventry council elections as Labour keeps control



The Greens won their second ever seat on Coventry City Council today (May 5) as Labour kept control on a terrible night for Rishi Sunak. The Greens swiped the seat from Labour in Holbrooks, the same place they won a seat for the first time last year.

It was the only main change in this year's local elections where a third of city council seats were up for grabs. Labour has successfully defended 13 of these and remains comfortably in control of the council with a majority of 37.

The Tories also hung onto four wards despite taking a battering nationally amid suggestions from Labour voices that Sir Keir Starmer is now set to win the next General Election.

The count at the CBS arena started in the early hours of the morning. Emotions ran high as two wards went to recounts with one candidate winning by just 21 votes. But arguably the most significant event didn't come from either of the main parties.

In Holbrooks, where the Greens won by almost 500 votes last year, candidate Esther Reeves built on the momentum to win the seat by 79 votes. She and her party colleague Cllr Gray will now be recognised as an official political group on the council, which means they can bring motions for debates and have representation on committees.

Meanwhile, historically marginal wards Sherbourne and Cheylesmore came down to the wire. Both underwent at least one recount and Cheylesmore was the last to declare.

In Sherbourne, Labour's Cllr Gavin Lloyd won by just 21 votes against Conservative candidate Stephen Smith. This was a blow to the Conservatives who were campaigning strongly to win Sherbourne after they achieved a surprise landslide win in last year's September by-election.

Cllr Richard Brown, Labour's Cabinet Member for Finance, took Cheylesmore with less of a fine margin, winning by 184 votes, after two recounts. But in Westwood, a key target seat for Labour who won the seat from the Tories in May 2022, Conservative incumbent Cllr Marcus Lapsa won by almost 300 votes.

[rebbonk]

The numptees can't realise that it's a 'protest' vote. We can't afford their ludicrous policies. But let the idiots get on with it!

[rebbonk]

And a very miserable turnout across the city of 26.46 per cent, which was a decrease from 28 per cent last year. One must really ask if this is truly representative.
(Figures sourced from https://plmr.co.uk/2023/05/as-turnouts-remain-low-there-remains-a-unique-atmosphere-at-local-council-election-counts/)