Local political parties have been concluding their candidate selections for the Buckinghamshire Council elections in May 2025, but it is far from certain what the outcome will be, writes Cllr Stuart Wilson, Independent and Group Leader for the IMPACT Alliance Group.

Buckinghamshire has been dominated by Conservative control for decades, but back -to-back wins for the Liberal Democrats in Chesham & Amersham and three new Bucks Labour MPs in the General Election has set the cat amongst the pigeons.

Now we see Reform organizing and winning council by-elections elsewhere. The Conservatives face challenges from every direction. On top of that, we have more and more Independent candidates coming forward who want common sense representation of residents and less party politics.

Aggregate vote share across all council by-elections since the General Election show Labour on 24.5%, Conservatives on 24.1%, Lib Dems on 18.0%, Green on 10%, and Reform on 6.7%. The Conservative vote share in local elections has barely improved despite the Labour collapse. The real winners to date have been the Lib Dems and Reform.

Labour may be shooting themselves in the foot at present, but voters have not forgotten that the Conservatives were roundly defeated and ejected from office after fourteen years because they lost the trust of the British electorate.

After fourteen years as Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council and now Buckinghamshire Council, local voters may feel the same about Cllr Martin Tett and his Conservative colleagues. We have seen our public services run down, everything outsourced with out-of-control costs, and a fire sale of the family silver. We need a financially sustainable and right-sized Council that puts all its effort into making Buckinghamshire a better, safer and more caring place to live for residents, not petty party politics.

Looking at results closer to Buckinghamshire, November council by-election results show Labour holding Great Holland (Bracknell Forest) and Bennetts End (Dacorum), the Lib Dems held both Broughton and Bradwell (both Milton Keynes) and took Chipping Norton (West Oxfordshire), the Conservatives took Hemel Hempstead Town (Dacorum).

The Conservatives are under pressure on every side, so there is every chance that we will have a more balanced Council after May 2025 with contributions from all parties, and, of course, with more Independent candidates coming forward every week we hope to get many more Independent councillors.