This was a Lib Dem scalp in 2019, when Rachel Bishop-Firth took the seat from Conservative Philip Mirfin. She polled nearly twice as many votes as her rival, turning it into a Lib Dem stronghold.
Standing again, Cllr Bishop-Firth will be hoping for a similar result, but is up against one of the Conservatives’ youngest candidates in this year’s vote.
2023 result
2019 results
| Candidate | Votes |
| Rachel Bishop-Firth, Lib Dem | 1827 |
| Brent Lees, Labour | 216 |
| Philip Mirfin, Conservative | 923 |
| Spoilt | 45 |
Polling station
- Emmbrook Village Hall
- St Paul’s Parish Rooms
The candidates
Rachel Bishop-Firth, Lib Dem
I live in Emmbrook with my family. My children went to local schools. I love living here and being involved in the community.
I’m involved with many community groups and helped start Wokingham Pride and the local water bottle refill scheme.
Since being elected as a borough councillor for Emmbrook in 2019 I’ve had the opportunity to help hundreds of people with a big variety of issues, including this last year as Executive Member for Equalities, Inclusion and Fighting Poverty.
I hope to be able to continue doing so if re-elected.
Alwyn Jones, Labour
Awaiting information from candidate.
James Pett, Conservative
I grew up in Worcestershire and after university moved to Wokingham to make my home here in Emmbrook, living near my grandparents.
I’m 24 and, although young and new to the town, I was motivated to stand for election by the decisions of the ruling Lib Dem/Labour coalition who took control of the Council last May.
These are tough times and our council should be doing what it can to help everyone. Yet the coalition-run council is cutting services like weekly bin collections and charging more for parking.
I’m concerned about the impact on local businesses as the huge car park fee increases will mean that shops and restaurants here in town will struggle to compete with those outside with free car parks.
I think we have a fantastic town centre and the regeneration project was a real success. I don’t want to see shops, cafes and bars forced to close. It’s great to have such a range within walking distance.
Talking to local residents, I know many share my concern about the state of the roads in Emmbrook. If elected, I’d ensure that we had our fair share of roads resurfaced here and would get proper attention paid to the many potholes. The Coalition Council has cut the budget in real terms for road maintenance but a Conservative Council would increase the budget to look after roads and pavements.
With your support on 4 May, I can be a new strong voice on the council and represent you.
Stephen Priest, Heritage Party
The Heritage Party believes in freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of belief and liberty of conscience. We should end politically correct policing. If someone’s upset by a tweet it’s a personal matter not a police matter.
All high street businesses in Wokingham should take cash. We strongly oppose Central Bank Digital Currencies where all spending will be monitored.
Politicians have no right to tell citizens where and when they can travel.
We oppose all Net Zero policies, such as Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) and 15 Minute Cities. These will curtail people’s freedom to travel using road blocks, fines and draconian surveillance. Many of those proposing Net Zero fly around in private jets with huge homes by the ocean.
Carbon Dioxide only makes up 0.04% of the earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is plant food and is vital to all life on earth. The UK has enough fossil fuels to be self-sufficient in energy for decades.
There should be no approval for solar farms, wind turbines or big housing developments on green land.
We must stop political activism by teachers, including transgender propaganda or sexually explicit materials.
The United Kingdom should be governed only by her own citizens not supranational organisations like the EU, WHO, WEF or UN.
Lauren Seymour, Green
Awaiting information from candidate
