Yeovil Town Council is very much a LibDem affair. They have a comfortable majority on the council if not quite the dominance that their colleagues on Taunton Town Council enjoy. In Taunton 19 out of 20 councillors are LibDems. In Yeovil it is a similar picture. Heading into Thursday’s by election there were 21 LibDems, one Yeovil Independent and one Conservative and one vacancy.
The vacancy was in Abbey Manor South. Ahead of the election the LibDems were, unsurprisingly, expecting an easy win. The result was something of a surprise. With three candidates standing the votes cast were:
51 Adrian Wilkes (Yeovil Independents)
45 Ami Chivers (LibDem)
21 Terry Ledlie (Labour)
Admittedly the turnout at just under 20% was disappointing. And the result will not alter the stranglehold the LibDems have on the council. They still hold 21 out of 24 seats.
But the result, bringing a second Independent onto the council, is a shot across the bows. Movements of independents determined to kick political parties out of our town councils have taken hold in Frome Wells and Shepton Mallet. There is a long way to go before they achieve the same in Yeovil. But the election result is a warning against complacency.
The more independents the better. The mainstream political parties have all failed us; we need people who are committed first and foremost to serving the community.
Don’t be fooled – Independents for Frome are a political party! You have to join and be selected to stand. They have a manifesto. They operate as a block. They’re not a national party but you either like their politics or you don’t
Lib-Dems recently lost their 3rd seat in row. Clearly the botched regeneration project and rocketing council tax bill is making people gang-up against them. The background context is that Lib-Dem led Somerset council is likely to be in administration by the end of the year. The brand is in trouble, i think.