WOKINGHAM borough’s local council elections have been listed as one to watch ahead of the vote on May 2.
This year, due to new ward boundaries, all 54 seats are up for grabs, with the Lib Dems looking to take overall control of the council, and the Conservatives hoping to win it back. Labour is looking to make gains, while the Greens are hoping to make a breakthrough.
The new map of the borough sees wards redrawn so each is now represented by three councillors, and this election is the first time these new seats have been contested.
The Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) is a not-for-profit, non-partisan membership organisation. It has been analysing the councils up for grabs, and says of Wokingham: “No party has an overall majority, but with a couple of new seats, the Liberal Democrats would be in a position to take full control for the first time since 1997, before the council was unitarised.”
Dr Jonathan Carr-West, LGIU chief executive, said: “At the LGIU, we always say local elections are the most important set of elections of all because they are the ones that make the most difference to the places where we live and work and to our experience of public services.
“That for us is an indisputable fact.
“What the 2024 local elections starkly illustrate is that elections for local authorities are one part of the democratic continuum. Local context is always important but the local elections not only reflect a wider national narrative they also develop and add substance to that narrative.”
He continued: “Local elections and general elections are connected and equal steps in the democratic process. What happens in May is not a support act to the general election, it is a chapter in our ever-evolving democracy and one that will influence the national election as much as the Westminster context will influence local outcomes.
“And whatever the result of the next general election – the councillors, mayors, assembly members and PCCs we elect in May will remain. They will make decisions, guided by local circumstances, to deliver the best for their communities.”
