East Devon District Council results May 2023 – Declaration of results for East Devon District Council Tale Vale ward 4 May 2023 – East Devon
| Name of Candidate | Description (if any) | Number of votes | Elected? |
| JEFFERIES Richard O | Liberal Democrats | 627 | Yes |
| SKINNER Philip | Conservative Party Candidate | 421 |
Electorate: 2174
Ballot Papers Issued: 1050
Rejected Ballot Papers: 2
Turnout: 48.3%
Jake Bonetta (Labour) who switched from defending his seat on East Devon, fails to oust Tories in St Loye’s
Labour is still the dominant force on Exeter City Council but experienced a mixed night in the local elections.
Ollie Heptinstall, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk
For the second year running, it gained a second seat in the former Tory stronghold of Topsham, but lost a seat in St Thomas to former Lib Dem council leader Adrian Fullam.
Meanwhile, in the only other seat to change hands, the Greens won in Newtown and St Leonard’s, which had previously been occupied by an Independent who didn’t seek re-election.
Only a third of the 39-seat council was up for election – in line with the usual cycle.
Labour still holds 25 seats, the same as before the election, although its tally is one down on the 2022 election result due to one of its councillors then becoming an independent.
The Greens are up one to six councillors – now the largest outright opposition party on the council – but they are expected to continue working with the Liberal Democrats as part of the ‘Progressive Group’.
Meanwhile, it was another poor night in Exeter for the Conservatives, who now have just four councillors after losing another in Topsham. However, the party successfully fought off a strong Labour challenge to retain St Loye’s.
And after gaining a seat in St Thomas and defending their existing one in Duryard & St James, the Liberal Democrats now have three councillors.
FULL RESULTS
ALPHINGTON
Yvonne Atkinson (Labour): 1,187 – HOLD
John Bowman (Green): 306
Jamie Horner (Liberal Democrat): 150
Katherine New (Conservatives): 653
DURYARD AND ST JAMES
David Blagden (Labour): 791
Simon Egan (Green): 278
Harry Johnson-Hill (Conservatives): 213
Michael Mitchell (Liberal Democrat): 938 – HOLD
EXWICK
Joanne Giencke (Liberal Democrats): 117
Kayleigh Luscombe (Conservatives): 333
Susannah Patrick (Labour): 1,145 – HOLD
Frankie Rufolo (Independent): 263
Mark Shorto (Green): 268
HEAVITREE
Carol Bennett (Green): 1,308 – HOLD
Alfie Carlisle (Conservatives): 278
Lucy Haigh (Independent): 301
Gemma Rolstone (Labour): 1,020
Rod Ruffle (Liberal Democrat): 100
MINCINGLAKE AND WHIPTON
David Luscombe (Conservatives): 352
Mike Payne (Liberal Democrat): 184
Alex Stephan (Green): 198
Ruth Williams (Labour): 1,191 – HOLD
NEWTOWN AND ST LEONARD’S
Julian Gallie (Conservaties): 213
Andy Ketchin (Green): 1,373 – GAIN FROM IND
Vanessa Newcombe (Liberal Democrat): 104
Carol Whitton (Labour): 1,035
PENNSYLVANIA
Will Aczel (Liberal Democrats): 199
Robert Sheridan (Conservatives): 423
Martyn Snow (Labour): 1,194 – HOLD
Lizzie Woodman (Green): 882
PINHOE
Rory Jack Clark (Liberal Democrat): 183
Ann Barbara Keen (Green): 227
Cynthia Thompson (Conservatives): 778
Mollie Miller (Labour): 1,251 – HOLD
PRIORY
Jane Begley (Labour): 1,062 – HOLD
Ben Hawkes (Conservatives): 469
Joel Stobart (Green): 278
Philip Thomas (Liberal Democrat): 237
ST DAVID’S
George Baker (Conservatives): 230
Diana Moore (Green): 1,322 – HOLD
Andrew Soper (Liberal Democrats): 85
Ellen Miriam Stuart (Labour): 752
ST LOYE’S
Jake Bonetta (Labour): 980
Phil Brock (Liberal Democrat): 164
Alison Sheridan (Conservatives): 1,127 – HOLD
Jack Vickers (Green): 189
ST THOMAS
Ashley Carr (Conservatives): 167
Deborah Darling (Labour): 1,109
Adrian Fullam (Liberal Democrats): 1,217 – GAIN FROM LAB
Natasha Jane Hannaford (Reform UK): 57
Johanna Korndorfer (Green): 210
TOPSHAM
Christine Campion (Liberal Democrat): 230
Jonathan Mills (Green): 259
Rob Newby (Conservatives): 1,098
Matthew Williams (Labour): 1,394 – GAIN FROM CON
Labour have taken control of Plymouth council – weeks after a “massacre” where 110 mature trees were felled under the cover of darkness as part of a regeneration project.
Are we surprised? – Owl
Chay Quinn www.lbc.co.uk
Labour won 15 of the 19 seats being contested – to take full majority control of the local authority which was under No Overall Control.
A fortnight ago, Plymouth City Council contractors felled more than 100 trees in the city centre before a court injunction won by protesters forced them to stop.
Former council head Richard Bingley sparked outrage when he ordered the felling of 110 healthy trees in Plymouth city centre last week.
He ordered over 100 trees to be chopped down in the middle of the night to make way for a £12.7 million redevelopment project.
He was set to face a vote of no-confidence by the opposition Green party over the incident after swathes of criticism, but announced his resignation before the vote was brought.
In his resignation speech, he said: “I’ve always said I’m not a full-time politician, I don’t seek to be, I’m just an individual who is passionate and ambitious for Plymouth.
“If others feel they can run our glorious Ocean City better, then that’s great with me. ‘Over to you’, I say.”
Nick Ferrari called out the council at the time for lying, stating there is “no defence” for the decision.
Nick said: “You’ve got men and women climbing ladders, using chainsaws and those giant chipping machines, and you do it in darkness, at night because of ‘safety concerns’.
“What a load of cobblers! What a blatant lie by Plymouth City Council. How many times have you walked down the street… where a certain area is taped off because they’re bringing trees down? It happens all the time.
“This was so there was no way that the people could stop it because this council knew that it was wrong. I hope every councillor who voted in favour of this is kicked out on their well-remunerated backside. There is no defence!”
Nick continued his rant: “Trees that have been there since the 1960s felled at night because of the fury of local residents… and mostly for cyclists. What is it with cyclists? Dear God, they’ve taken most of our roads now, they’ve got some of our pavements, now we’ve got to chop down trees to support these people.”
The trees are being cut down in Plymouth city centre as part of a regeneration scheme that would see the planting of 169 new semi-mature trees, the local authority has said.
Later, Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, a caller, Mick in Titchfield said that the report made his “stomach churn”, arguing that the council’s decision was “absolutely disgusting”.
Another caller, Richard in Marlborough, branded the move a “typical bureaucratic nightmare run by a bunch of little Hitlers”.
He went on to say, “It’s appalling what they’ve done in Plymouth”.
Jeremy Craig-Weston, who is standing as a Tory candidate in Thursday’s council elections in Oldham, said he ‘loathes’ the PM, who he has branded a ‘backstabbing scrote’
Dave Burke (Extract see www.mirror.co.uk for more)
A Tory probe has been opened into the online comments
Rishi Sunak has been branded a “moron”, a “wretched little man” and a “back-stabbing scrote” by one of his party’s own election candidates.
Legal & General is to halt new production at its loss-making modular housing factory near Leeds while it reviews the future of the business, putting 450 jobs at risk and casting doubt over the pioneering sector’s prospects.
Julia Kollewe www.theguardian.com
The factory, one of the biggest in the UK, manufactures homes in prefabricated modules that are put together on site, which is faster than tradition construction and has been hailed as a possible solution to the housing shortage.
However, amid long planning delays and weak demand, the insurance and pensions group has told staff it is ceasing the construction of new modules and will let the majority of them go.
The company will begin a consultation with employees about redundancies, retaining a number to build modular homes for existing projects in Bristol, Selby in North Yorkshire and Broadstairs in Kent.
Strategic options for the factory include a sale, merger, fundraising from third parties or eventual closure.
L&G’s modular housing business has made slower progress than expected, running up cumulative losses of £176m since it was established in 2016 by the insurer’s outgoing chief executive, Nigel Wilson. Its parent has injected £182m into it over that period.
Several other modular housing firms are also in the red; three went bust last year. One of the few profitable firms is the Bedford-based Vision Modular Systems.
Bill Hughes, chair of the L&G modular homes board, said: “We are reluctantly proposing to reduce business activity and cease production of new modules at the factory.
“We recognise this will be a challenging and uncertain period for our staff and we will be actively exploring redeployment opportunities and supporting them during this difficult time.
Hughes said L&G remained “deeply committed” to the UK housing sector, after building 15,000 homes overall over the past three years.
“As such, we are continuing to actively explore all options available to us and will retain a select workforce to ensure high quality delivery and aftercare services for our existing customers, whilst engaging with each of our partners regarding ongoing modular projects.”
Local authorities in England have not been given the funding or powers to fulfil the government’s strategy on air pollution, and air quality in English towns and cities is likely to suffer as a result, local governments and charities have said.
Fiona Harvey www.theguardian.com
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published its latest plan late on 28 April, just before the UK bank holiday weekend. It followed a consultation earlier that month that was only days long, which local authorities said was not enough time for them to contribute properly.
The strategy requires local authorities in England to improve air quality, through measures such as traffic restrictions and clamping down on wood-burning stoves. No new funding is on offer, and measures such as traffic calming are often controversial and difficult for local governments to implement, while experts have said regulations on wood burning are inadequate to reduce pollution from this rapidly growing source.
The Healthy Air Coalition, made up of dozens of health and pollution charities and local governments, called for a change of direction from ministers, saying progress on air pollution had “plateaued” since the Covid pandemic.
Anna Garrod, policy director at Impact on Urban Health, said: “Air pollution is, right now, devastating people’s health across the country. It’s a public health crisis that costs the economy billions of pounds every year. Not only that, but time and time again, research shows air pollution is a social justice issue which disproportionately affects people who often contribute the least, like children.”
Local governments are especially frustrated that the consultation on the strategy, which opened on 11 April, closed on 21 April.
Liz Clements, a councillor and cabinet member for transport in Birmingham, said: “The government provided just nine working days to respond to a strategy that seeks to address the biggest environmental risk to public health. The strategy makes clear the essential role that local government has in delivering cleaner air for communities. Yet in the time provided to develop an informed response to such a key document, there has been no recognition of the need for local government to assess potential impacts on a significant number of service areas.”
She called for Defra to give local authorities more time to respond, and to work with them on the issues.
Some local authorities also fear the government is not speaking with a unified voice. Some of the measures called for in the new air quality strategy are the same ones that a number of Conservative politicians, at local and national level, are campaigning against or complaining about before local elections on 4 May.
These include low emission zones, low traffic neighbourhoods, systems to filter buses from traffic, and other measures often clumped with “15-minute cities” that have become the target of conspiracy theorists, whose messages Conservative politicians often amplify on social media.
Christopher Hammond, a former leader of Southampton city council, said: “A vocal and growing lobby that views any attempt to get people out of their cars as restricting freedom has heightened the sense of controversy and genuine fears over a minority of violent threats, which risk eroding the political will to implement bold but effective measures.”
The Healthy Air Coalition has examined the effect of some existing measures on air quality. Local air quality management areas are supposed to enable local government to take urgent measures to reduce air pollution in hotspots and should be revoked when air pollution goals are met.
The group analysed measures in force across the UK and found that 68.5% of UK local authorities still have one or more such areas. The first one introduced in Westminster 24 years ago is among those still in place.
The group said the persistence of these management areas showed that air pollution was not being solved.
Jason Torrance, interim chief executive of UK100, a group of local authorities working together on environmental issues, said much more action was needed, and the latest plans for Defra were inadequate.
“The latest statistics reveal the worrying scale of the government’s air quality failures,” he said. “Hard-working councillors will be left gasping for breath, as the government is asking them to take on all the political risk for traffic reduction and wood burning, without offering the necessary policy support or funding.”
He called for a rethink. “Defra officials have done well in the circumstances, and we welcome the commitment to help councils with air quality communication, but it’s hard to see this strategy delivering clean air without putting in place significant improvements to a national and local government partnership,” he said.
East Devon Watch 