A clean sweep for Lib Dems at Thatcham Town Council

The Liberal Democrats have won every seat on Thatcham Town Council.

The local authority was previously made up of 14 Lib Dems, three Conservatives and one Independent (formerly Green) councillor.

When the leader of West Berkshire Liberal Democrats Lee Dillon secured his place in his ward Thatcham North East with four of his colleagues he told the room that the party “should not be underestimated”.

“This is the first time Thatcham Town Council is representing five [Thatcham North East] seats,” he said.

“We should expect to take control of Thatcham Town Council by the end of [Friday].”

And they did.

Newcomer Justin Alexander Pemberton won a seat on Thatcham West with four other Lib Dem councillors.

He said: “It is my first time standing.

“I never knew how much goes into preparing an election from all the staff that are involved right from the start.”

Those to lose their seat at the table were Conservative councillor for Thatcham Central Richard Crumly and Conservative councillor for Colthrop and Crookham Steve Ardagh-Walter – who also lost his seat on West Berkshire Council.

“Ecstatic” and “tired” were the words Thatcham mayor Jeff Brooks used to describe how he felt on Friday afternoon after his party’s success.

He said: “We [Lib Dems] have worked hard for months on this and we have been rewarded by the people of Thatcham, particularly, but all of West Berkshire.

“As mayor of Thatcham, I want to thank the people of Thatcham that they have elected so many town councillors across the district.

“It has been a wonderful day.”

Mr Brooks said having both a Lib Dem-run town council and district council will remove ‘”tension” between the two bodies and, subsequently, make processes run smoother.

He added: “When you have got the same party in charge, the same administration at both councils they can work so much better together; they are constantly looking and seeing how they can do that.

“There isn’t that tension between the councils and that is the big benefit to people.”

He added: “It is also about better consultation with people, making sure we know what they want, what they need and trying to deliver that.

“We won’t be able to do everything, we can’t be miracle workers, and it has been a while since we [at West Berkshire Council] have been in charge, but we will work our socks off to do better for the people of West Berkshire and Thatcham.”

Those not standing for re-election were Conservative councillor Ellen Crumly, and Independent Paul Field and Liberal Democrat councillors Jennifer Walker, David Lister, Richard Foster and Keith Woodhams.