Elton, Derbyshire

A message to thanks and summary of election results from you District Councillor, Colin Swindell….

I wanted to write a belated message of thanks to everybody who voted and voted for me in the recent local elections. For those of you who have not yet seen the results for the Winster and South Darley Ward, it was as follows…

Charlie Foster Philips (Labour) 22 votes (3%)

Colin Swindell (Independent) 758 votes (97%)

Turnout for 57.6% – the highest for any ward across the district

The vote I received was far greater than anything I imagined. I was overwhelmed when I saw the number of ballot papers being counted and very grateful for the trust that residents have put in me.

I want to thank everybody who took the time to vote for me and to those people who supported me through leafleting, putting up posters, garden boards and spreading messages of support. I couldn’t have done it without you and I will continue to work tirelessly and represent you to the best of my ability.

Thank you also for the many messages of congratulations I have received following the result. I’m still getting round to replying to them all.

Now that the elections are over, its back to work and getting on with the job. Throughout the campaign a lot of problems, concerns and issues were raised with me. I have already begun the work of addressing these. If you raised an issue of concern with me, I will be in touch with you in the coming weeks to update you.

The controlling group now have a majority of just 1 councillor – down from 9. I am hopeful that is now an opportunity for the council to adopt a more cooperative approach to things, where there is cross-party consensus and opposition councillors are listened to a lot more.

I will uphold my promise of not siding with any party and will not join any voting block or coalition. I will vote, for or against items, on a case by case basis. I will only support policies, ideas and services that benefit my constituents, our communities and the wider Derbyshire Dales.

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Overall Summary of the Derbyshire Dales Results

Overall across the Derbyshire Dales, the controlling Conservative group have retained control of Derbyshire Dales District Council with a reduced majority – they now have a majority of 1 down from 9.

The Liberal Democrats take over from Labour as the official opposition. The Lib Dems gained 5 new councillors on their 2015 return and Labour one. The Greens were winners too, taking two seats, and the voters also returned 3 Independent councillors. It means the Conservatives hold control by a single seat, taking 20 of the available 39 seats.

The last result of the Count at Wirksworth Leisure Centre was declared at 4.45am – a single vote victory for the Green Party candidate Matthew Buckler in Stanton.

So the final result was:

• Conservatives 20 seats

• Lib Dems 8

• Labour 6

• Independents 3

• Green Party 2

The overall Derbyshire Dales turnout was 41.6%.

Written by Colin Swindell (Independent District Councillor and Candidate 2019)