• Support Wokingham Today
  • Get the print edition
  • Sign up for our daily newsletter
Monday, October 27, 2025
Wokingham.Today
  • HOME
  • MY AREA
    • All
    • Arborfield
    • Barkham
    • Beech Hill
    • Binfield
    • Bracknell
    • Charvil
    • Crowthorne
    • Earley
    • Emmbrook
    • Finchampstead
    • Grazeley
    • Henley
    • Hurst
    • Lower Earley
    • Norreys
    • Reading
    • Remenham
    • Riseley
    • Shinfield
    • Sindlesham
    • Sonning
    • Spencers Wood
    • Swallowfield
    • Three Mile Cross
    • Twyford
    • Wargrave
    • Winnersh
    • Wokingham
    • Wokingham Without
    • Woodley
    • Woosehill
    • Yateley
    Homes

    The impact of homelessness in Wokingham Borough as numbers in emergency accommodation is revealed

    Pic: Laura Bennetto

    Blandy & Blandy’s annual business networking event

    The junction of Molly Millars Lane and Finchampstead Road will be improved to support the South Wokingham Distributor Road. Credit: Wokingham Borough Council

    The footpaths and routes closed for construction of major new road in Wokingham

    Shinfield councillor Andrew Gray.

    Ad policy “will make residents sicker”: claims Wokingham Labour

    MP Yuan Yang

    MP Yang calls on government to provide update on closure of hotels being used to house asylum seekers

    The former Whatsheaf Inn. Photographs courtesy of Wokingham A Pictorial History by J.and R. Lea.

    New guide for former pubs and breweries in Wokingham launched

    The arena offices? team welcomed Duncan Boxall.

    Director of estates and facilities appointed

    The Point building in Bracknell, that was occupied by Hollywood Bowl, the Odeon cinema and Pizza Hut. All businesses are now closed. Credit: Google Maps

    What’s next for the Hollywood Bowl site in Bracknell as it could be replaced with flats

    Wokingham Borough Council offices in Shute End. Credit: Wokingham Borough Council

    Last chance to support call for fairer funding

  • SPORT
    • All
    • Binfield FC
    • Reading FC
    Reading FC

    Four potential options as new Reading FC manager after Hunt sacking

    Rob Couhig Picture: Luke Adams

    ‘I fault myself, I haven’t been ruthless enough’: Rob Couhig assesses Reading FC’s start to the season

    Noel Hunt

    ‘We wish him the best, but his position was untenable’: Fans react after Noel Hunt is sacked by Reading FC

    Reaidng v Doncaster Rovers Picture: Luke Adams

    ‘He loves the club, but change is desperately needed’: Reading FC fans question Hunt as Royals labour to home draw

    Muay Thai

    Rising stars from Wokingham shine at prestigious Muay Thai show

    Ruben Selles

    Former Reading FC boss Ruben Selles returns to management with new job

    Bobby Trundley Picture: Peter Markwick

    Wokingham racing star Bobby Trundley poised for championship title

    Table tennis Picture: Wikimedia Commons

    Table tennis round-up: New season kicks off for 102nd year

    Royston Drenthe Picture: Wikimedia Commons, Juan Fernandez

    Former Reading FC and Real Madrid player rushed to hospital after suffering stroke

  • READING FC
  • COMMUNITY
    Pic: Laura Bennetto

    Blandy & Blandy’s annual business networking event

    Shinfield councillor Andrew Gray.

    Ad policy “will make residents sicker”: claims Wokingham Labour

    MP Yuan Yang

    MP Yang calls on government to provide update on closure of hotels being used to house asylum seekers

    The former Whatsheaf Inn. Photographs courtesy of Wokingham A Pictorial History by J.and R. Lea.

    New guide for former pubs and breweries in Wokingham launched

    The arena offices? team welcomed Duncan Boxall.

    Director of estates and facilities appointed

    Wokingham Borough Council offices in Shute End. Credit: Wokingham Borough Council

    Last chance to support call for fairer funding

    WOKINGHAM Borough Council is inviting residents to help shape a new engagement and consultation strategy. Picture: WBC

    Wokingham Borough Council launches survey to focus on listening

    The Shredquarters Twyford holds two successful fundraisers

    Coppa Club CEO Mark Loughborough (l) and Sonning CE Primary headteacher Phil Sherwood (r) at The Greathouse. PIcture: Coppa Club

    Coppa Club’s Great House makes generous donation to primary school

  • LIFESTYLE
    • All
    • Food
    • Health
    • Obituaries
    • People
    Wokingham Borough Council urges residents to make full use of their pumpkins, and help reduce waste. Picture: WBC

    Don’t bin your pumpkin, suggests council

    Eddie Gray

    The award for The Ship Inn.

    Award for Wokingham pub

    Health and social care teams across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) are joining forces to prepare for the winter period. Picture: Nicolas Leclercq via Unsplash

    NHS gears up for winter pressures

    Scouts battled for a place on the international Jamboree to take place in Poland in 2027. PIctures: Scouting organisation

    Scouts battle for international Jamboree selection

    Residents can borrow a thermal imaging camera from the library to check for heat loss in their homes. Picture: from WBC information video via Youtube

    Naturally Speaking: Is your home losing heat?

    Meetings at Wokingham Quaker Meeting House are on Sundays at 10.30am. PIcture: Michael Ford, Wikimedia Commons

    Church Notes: Does Faith Matter?

    Clive Jnes MP performed the opening of Ranga Lounge.

    Town welcomes new restaurant

    The NHS in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire has administered more than six million Covid-19 jabs since the start of the vaccine programme in 2020, figures show. Picture: Angelo Esslinger via Pixabay

    Six million Covid-19 jabs administered in Berks, Bucks, Oxon since 2020

  • WHAT’S ON
    • All
    • Arts
    • Entertainment
    Enjoy family show, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at South Hill Park. Picture: EBOS

    The Chocolate Factory opens for Charlie in Bracknell: Roald Dahl’s classic story to be performed in November

    Young people can enjoy a range of outdoor activities at Dinton Wild Days Activity Club this half term holiday. Picture: WBCouncil

    Dinton Pastures offers Wild Days for children this half-term holiday

    The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has announced its 2025?26 Residency at The Hexagon. Picture: courtesy of RPO and The Hexagon

    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to bring a year of inclusive concerts to Reading

    An exhibition at the FBC Centre in Finchampstead will highlight the seriousness of domestic abuse. Picture: NoName 13 via Pixabay

    A free exhibition in Finchampstead will highlight domestic abuse

    Tense courtroom drama The Winslow Boy at Wokingham Theatre is based on a true story. PIctures: Simon Vail Photography

    Witness a tense courtroom drama in Wokingham

    This week Kerry Godliman returns to Reading's Hexagon with the second leg of her latest stand-up show, Bandwidth.

    ‘Now I’m worried I am a robot’: Kerry Godliman talks ‘Bandwidth’ ahead of Reading show this week

    Woodley Concert Band?s Autumn concert promises a night of sparking superheroes and jazzy villains. Picture: Andrew Martin via Pixabay

    Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Or is it Woodley Concert Band?

    PAMELA RAITH

    REVIEW: Darkness descends at The Mill at Sonning, thanks to ‘The Shadow in the Mirror’

    London's New Players' Theatre Company, with Tom carradine on pianoforte, will entertain at Wokingham's Whitty Theatre on Saturday, October 4. Picture: New Players Theatre Company

    My lords, ladies and gentlemen, for your delight and delectation, an old time music hall show

  • JOBS
  • ADVERTISE
  • CONTACT
No Result
View All Result
Wokingham.Today
No Result
View All Result
Home News Politics Vote 2018 Manifestos

Tony Johnson: Manifest Oh’s – Independents day

by Tony Johnson
April 29, 2018
in Manifestos, Opinion, Vote 2018
Polling e
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Following on from the comparison of Green and Labour manifestos last week and Liberal Democrat and Conservative manifestos the week before, this week gives a similar treatment to the policies from the three Independent candidates in Arborfield, Norreys and Shinfield.

However, before anyone starts “chuntering from a sedentary position” with dark mutterings about “partisan bias”, they’re not the only candidates, so here’s a reminder of everyone standing in those three wards, presented in alphabetic order by surname, with the incumbent’s name in bold:

Arborfield: Gary Cowan (Ind), David Edmunds (Con), Christopher Everett (Lab).

Norreys: Rachel Burgess (Lab), Philip Cunnington (Ind), David Lee (Con), Morgan Rise (Lib Dem)

Shinfield South: James Frewin (Ind), Christopher Johnson (Lib Dem), Marcus McDowell (Lab), Barrie Patman (Con).

House Building

Ind Arbor: Don’t destroy the green-ness of the borough and limit the level of new housing being built to 661 per annum up to 2026. Challenge the Grazeley proposals for 15,000 houses, also the University of Reading’s proposals for large scale development. Rescind the formal agreement to cooperate with neighbouring councils.

Related posts

VOTE 2024: Ward by ward – all the results and what happened

VOTE 2024: Live blog from the Wokingham Borough Council elections count

Ind Norreys: Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) needs to be stronger
in managing quality of delivery from all developers at all stages – from pre-planning through to hand over.

Ind Shinfield: Provide infrastructure before building more houses and support smaller developments from local builders and residents by providing proactive help for them.

Social Housing

Ind Arbor: WBC to build affordable houses on council owned land rather than use it for other developments.

Ind Norreys: Implement some basic maintenance for WBC’s older stock of council houses. Councillors should be providing “avenues to assistance” for less well off residents.

Ind Shinfield: Push for transparency of social housing needs and action, together with a policy of using existing empty buildings to support social needs where appropriate.

Regeneration

Ind Arbor: Keep the market town identity of Wokingham separate from Reading and Bracknell by e.g. niche shops (like Marlow).

Ind Norreys: WBC needs to remember that regeneration isn’t only about Wokingham Town Centre. Some parts of it need to be paused and allowed to bed in.

Ind Shinfield: Improve WBC project management so that it delivers to promise. Make local engagement meaningful for regeneration projects and support local businesses that are directly impacted.

Roads & Traffic

Ind Arbor: More roads, more car parking and more public transport – but not at the expense of car travel. Improve the measurement of emissions and create action plans toward Low Emissions Zones.

Ind Norreys: Reduce congestion around the borough by taking a lead in managing how, when and where new roads get developed, together with better planned roadworks for existing roads.

Ind Shinfield: Stop multiple digging up of the same bit of road and reduce traffic disruption. Deal with highways repairs before they become safety issues.

Environment & Leisure

Ind Arbor: Challenge the gravel extraction and cement production at Bridge Farm and its environmental damage. Work out a way in which Planning doesn’t end up trumping Tree Protection Orders.

Ind Norreys: Ensure that drainage on existing roads and new developments are better thought out. Tackle the causes of fly tipping and inappropriate waste disposal. Cease the continued destruction of mature and veteran trees.

Ind Shinfield: Improve water and flood management across the borough and support residents and businesses being impacted. Reduce fly tipping by making recycling and rubbish disposal easier with lower/no waste tip charges.

Schools & Education

Ind Arbor: WBC staff to keep Councillors informed of schools in their wards.
Ind Norreys: Improve children’s chances to get to school safely. Change the attitude and approach on the way in which schools are run and managed.

Ind Shinfield: Improve schools infrastructure and minimise trip distance to and from schools with better choice for parents.

Health & Care

Ind Arbor: Major development sites MUST have proper medical, fitness and health facilities. Developer contributions for a site should not be transferred for the betterment of medical facilities in other places.

Ind Norreys: Ensure appropriate care is given in a timely and efficient manner and provide better interaction between schools, parents and CAMHS for early intervention when children first show signs of anxiety, depression etc. Also, make better use of Healthwatch and voluntary organisations locally to improve family and community wellbeing.

Ind Shinfield: Review care policies to seek how best to encourage care at home while reviewing how care costs are recovered, to reduce the impact on life savings, family stress and the public purse.

Finance & Fairness

Ind Arbor: Represent residents to the council and its officers, not the other way round as instructed in the past. Large scale spending should be approved by full council, not a small group.

Ind Norreys: Scale the grand schemes back to what the borough can actually afford.

Ind Shinfield: Change WBC culture with Councillors as well as staff. Move to a ‘we do what we say and we deliver when we promise’ style in order to improve resident and community engagement. Communicate openly and engage with residents at all times, not just at election time.

The Last Word

There’s a mix of good news, not so good news, and downright stinky news this week.
For us all, the good news is that “that’s all folks” – we’ve now compared all the main policies for the Conservative, Green, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, along with the three Independents.

So if anything is unclear, or if you want to find out more about a particular manifesto, you can read all about it in one place because The Wokingham Paper is making everything easy to access at www.wokinghampaper.co.uk/manifestos

The website will also, over the coming days, start producing webpages for each ward in this election, detailing each of the candidates and how previous votes went.

And on the night, we’ll be working through the night to bring you the results as they happen, plus interviews, reaction and analysis.

For some, the not so good news is that you can only vote for a party or an individual if they’re standing in your ward.

For the politicians, the downright stinky news is that the choice is yours on May 3.

[email protected]

Keep up to date by signing up for our daily newsletter

We don’t spam we only send our newsletter to people who have requested it.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Tags: Gary CowanJames FrewinJim FrewinLocal electionsphil cunningtonphilip CunningtonVote 2018wokingham electionswokingham independents
Previous Post

VOTE 2018: Leaders interviews – Lindsay Ferris, Liberal Democrats

Next Post

Residents plagued by rats say they have been told to kill them themselves

FOLLOW US

POPULAR THIS WEEK

A CGI and site layout for Phase 4B of the Bucklers Park development in Crowthorne. Credit: Cala Homes

Wokingham & Bracknell planning round-up: Progress on 63 new homes being built in Crowthorne

October 25, 2025
Noel Hunt

‘We wish him the best, but his position was untenable’: Fans react after Noel Hunt is sacked by Reading FC

October 26, 2025
Members of Wargrave Local History Society learnt about Victorian Henley at their recent meeting. Picture: courtesy of WLHS

History group discovers Victorian Henley

October 21, 2025
Reaidng v Doncaster Rovers Picture: Luke Adams

‘He loves the club, but change is desperately needed’: Reading FC fans question Hunt as Royals labour to home draw

October 26, 2025
Pic: WBC.

Man fined for ignoring enforcement warnings

October 22, 2025
A concert at the Whitty Theatre from Art Themen and Friends will raise money for Wokingham in Need. Picture: WIN

Have yourself a jazzy little Christmas with Art Themen

October 23, 2025

ABOUT US

Wokingham Today is dedicated to providing news online across the whole of the Borough of Wokingham. It is a Social Enterprise, existing to support the various communities in Wokingham Borough.

Wokingham.Today is a Social Enterprise and aims to ensure that everyone within the Borough has free access to independent and up-to-date news. However, providing this service is not without costs. If you are able to, please make a contribution to support our work.

CONTACT US

[email protected]

Keep up to date with our daily newsletter

We don’t spam we only send our newsletter to people that have subscribed

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

  • Support Us
  • Book Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Get the Print Edition
  • Sign up for our daily newsletter

The Wokingham Paper Ltd publications are regulated by IPSO – the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
If you have a complaint about a  The Wokingham Paper Ltd  publication in print or online, you should, in the first instance, contact the publication concerned, email: [email protected], or telephone: 0118 327 2662. If it is not resolved to your satisfaction, you should contact IPSO by telephone: 0300 123 2220, or visit its website: www.ipso.co.uk. Members of the public are welcome to contact IPSO at any time if they are not sure how to proceed, or need advice on how to frame a complaint.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • MY AREA
    • Arborfield
    • Barkham
    • Beech Hill
    • Binfield
    • Bracknell
    • Charvil
    • Crowthorne
    • Earley
    • Emmbrook
    • Finchampstead
    • Grazeley
    • Henley
    • Hurst
    • Lower Earley
    • Norreys
    • Reading
    • Remenham
  • COMMUNITY
  • LIFESTYLE
  • SPORT
  • READING FC
  • OBITUARIES
  • WHAT’S ON
  • JOBS
  • PHOTOS
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • CONTACT US
  • WHERE TO GET THE PRINT EDITION
  • SUPPORT US

© 2022 - The Wokingham Paper Ltd - All Right Reserved.