Conservative Party candidates who stood in the West Oxfordshire District Council elections have blamed “national issues” and the party’s poor performance across England for their seat losses in the local elections.
The Conservative Party lost control of the district council last year after 22 years of being in charge, but many Conservatives were hopeful they could make gains on the back of the unpopularity of the county council's 20mph schemes.
The council is currently under the control of a political alliance between the Liberal Democrats, the Labour Party and the Green Party.
READ MORE: Election 2023: Full breakdown of West Oxfordshire results
Today, the Conservatives lost seats in Bampton and Clanfield, Carterton North East and Carterton North West, as the Liberal Democrats swooped up all three.
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Ted Fenton, a candidate for the Bampton and Clanfield ward, said candidates' poor results were the victim to “national issues” and they were a greater reflection of the party’s low popularity nationally.
Speaking to the Oxford Mail this morning, Ted Fenton was apprehensive about the party’s chances after he watched his party lose control of Medway Council in Kent overnight.
Mr Fenton said: “There are an awful lot of national issues being brought up on the doorstep and these are having an influence.”
Mr Fenton said there was a “complete mess of issues” which were being brought up by voters and which had nothing to do with the district council.
READ MORE: Elections: Lib Dems become largest party in West Oxfordshire
Mr Fenton lost his seat to the Liberal Democrat candidate Alistair Wray by only 32 votes.
It was a difficult morning for the Conservatives across the board, as they narrowly missed out on gains in Witney where they were beaten by less than 50 votes in Witney Central and Witney East.
The Conservative Party’s group leader in the council, Michele Mead, also nearly became a casualty of the surge in Liberal Democrat support, as she was elected to the Carterton South ward by a slim margin of 37 votes.
Ms Mead told the Oxford Mail she was “extremely relieved” but said the “national picture” was a major factor behind the losses the party experienced.
She said: “On the doorstep, there was a lot of people who said they wanted change.
“I’m just glad we held strong.”
At one stage, Conservatives were fearful they had lost the Ducklington ward and Conservative councillor Adrian Walsh won this by only eight votes after several re-counts took place.
Conservative county councillor Liam Walker was comfortably elected as the district councillor for the Hailey, Minister Lovell and Leafield ward but he also admitted that losses were “inevitable” after the party had been in government for 13 years.
Mr Walker said other parties were effective in “capitalising on the national picture” and warned the Labour Party could find itself playing a less influential role in the council’s alliance after the Liberal Democrats gained three more seats.
Liberal Democrat council leader Andy Graham said the electorate should be reassured as the party’s councillors would take advantage of the Conservative’s losses to “find common ground and get things done.”
Mr Graham dismissed the idea that the party would not continue to work constructively with the Labour Party and the Green Party.
He said: “Our approach to working together should be done nationally.
“No one party has a domain over the electorate and the results today in West Oxfordshire have demonstrated this.”
Witney East and Labour Party councillor Duncan Enright said the results were “another step in the right direction”.
Mr Enright said the council’s alliance would continue to reach out to the Conservatives, as he highlighted that there continued to be areas such as the local plan where all parties wanted to put together an exciting vision for the district.
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