On a difficult night across the UK, the local elections in Basingstoke and Deane saw a mixed bag of results for the Conservative candidates. After a long and hard campaign, we retained Evingar Ward, where Jo Perry becomes a worthy replacement for the redoubtable Graham Falconer. We also held on in Sherborne St John and Rooksdown, where Simon Minas-Bound retained his seat with a good majority.
Sadly though we lost in Tadley North & Kingsclere, in Tadley & Pamber, and in Whitchurh, Overton & Laverstoke. Commiserations to our candidates Stuart Frost, Kerri Carruthers and Tom Thacker. They threw themselves into campaigning, working incredibly hard, and deserve our thanks. It’s quite a big step to put yourself forward for election to public officer and all of them have my admiration.