Revamped battlefields at Winchester City Council for elections

Every seat is being contested with the number of wards dropping from 26 to 16 and councillors falling from 57 to 45.

All the single member wards, Itchen Valley, Sparsholt, Headbourne Worthy, Cheriton and Bishop’s Sutton, Droxford, Soberton and Hambledon and Boarhunt and Southwick, have been scrapped and merged with others to create three-member wards. Some, such as the Upper Meon Valley, extremely large and stretching from the eastern edge of Winchester to Meonstoke.

Only three two-member wards remain, Colden Common and Twyford, St Luke and Upper Meon Valley.

In Winchester the ward of St John and All Saints, a Labour stronghold, has been axed and divided between St Michael and St Bartholomew ward.

There are currently 33 Conservatives, 22 Liberal Democrats and two Labour members.

Winchester usually holds its elections three years in every four, with a third of councillors up every year and the fourth year seeing the county council elections.

Added spice is the fielding of five independent candidates encouraged by the widespread anger over the Silver Hill redevelopment.

Five independents are standing. Its leader Judith Martin, herself a former Lib Dem councillor in the 1990s, said: "We’re very happy with the number of candidates. Our intention was to have one in each city ward. We didn’t want more than one as it would be foolish to stand against each other. Another reason for concentrating on the city wards is that that is where the major planning débacles are."

Mike Caldwell and Tim Fell, co-founders of the independent group, are not standing. Mr Caldwell said: "I did consider very seriously standing, but, due to my crazy 'day' job as a location photographer which frequently takes me away from home, I don’t feel that now is my time to do this."

Mr Fell said: "Candidates for election need a lot of practical backroom support if they are to succeed, and backroom support is what I (and Mike Caldwell, and various others) are good at."

Labour candidate Patrick Davies, a councillor for 30 years, said the fact only five independents were standing showed it was "something of a damp squib, providing no real challenge to the current Tory regime."

The Independent candidates are: Kezia Hoffman, Mike Coker-Davies, Tomos (CORR) James, Judith Martin and Tracey-Clare Dunlop are holding a series of meet the candidate events: at the Corner House, North Walls, 7-9pm on Monday April 18; at Toscanaccio in Parchment Street, 5-7pm on Friday April 22; and in the outhouse behind the Green Man in Southgate Street, 7-9pm on Monday April 25.

The Conservatives and Labour are contesting all 45 seats, the Lib Dems 43, the Greens ten and UKIP six.

Several councillors are standing down including long-serving Simon Cook (Lib Dem, The Alresfords), Barry Lipscomb, a former mayor, and Malcolm Wright, both Conservative in Wonston and Micheldever.

Other councillors not standing are: Tom Ruffell (Con, Bishop’s Waltham), Peter Kent Mason (Lib Dem, Colden Common and Twyford), Mike Southgate (Con, Compton and Otterbourne), Kirk Phillips (Con, Denmead), Caroline Dibden (Con, Droxford, Soberton and Hambledon) Patrick Fancett (Lib Dem, Oliver’s Battery and Badger Farm), Helen Osborne (Con, St Barnabas), James Maynard (Lib Dem, St Bartholomew), Jonathan Scowen (Con, St John and All Saints), Rose Prowse (Lib Dem, St Luke) and Robert Sanders (Con, St Michael).

Cllr Osborne, one of the younger members, said: “Basically, I decided that trying to balance a full-time career in London, a young family and multiple council evening meetings a week was not ideal. With the Silver Hill focus over the last year, there have been many but important meetings which typically meant I did a 19-hour day of meetings and about three hours sleep. I also found the level of red tape exhausting, the most crucial part in my decision to stand down."

Cllr Robert Sanders explained: "I have completed two full terms totalling eight years. I feel that’s enough."

He also added that he chaired the working group that recommended the number of councillors be cut from 57 to save about £100,000 a year.

Cllr Lipscomb said the decision was "entirely mine, arrived at after some months of mulling over the decision which I took mentally some time ago. I shall obviously stand down with mixed feelings. However, all good things come to an end and I am proud of what I have been able to achieve in various ways within the Council but especially for my wonderful electorate in Wonston and Micheldever, who have always been very kind and supportive."

An unusually large number of former councillors are attempting comebacks: for the Lib Dems, Eleanor Bell, former council leaders Sheila Campbell and Kelsie Learney, Margaret Scriven, and John Higgins; for Labour, Patrick Davies and Peter Rees, both group leaders, Nigel Fox and Antony de Peyer. Karen Barratt a former Lib Dem is standing for Labour.