Who is standing in the Thatcham Town Council by-election?
Three candidates are standing in the Thatcham Town Council by-election for the Thatcham North East ward.
They are Conservative candidate Richard John Crumly, UKIP candidate Gary Edward Johnson and Liberal Democrat candidate Dave Lunn.
This comes after Liberal Democrat councillor Christine Rice stepped down from her post.
The election will be held next Thursday (March 14).
Batting for the Tories is Richard Crumly who lost his seat at the table at the local elections in May last year.
He was first elected to the district council in 2000 where he remained – with breaks – until 2019.
His time at Thatcham Town Council began in 2005 and he was voted off in 2019. And in this time he became a familiar voice in the local area.
“The Lib Dems captured all the seats in May,” he said.
“There were 18 for them and nil for everyone else.
“That is not good for democracy and we need to level it out a bit.”
He added: “As just one voice in 18, you’ve got your work cut out for you but you have got to make your voice heard.”
Mr Crumly said, if voted in, he would aim to keep costs and expenses down in a bid to keep council taxes to a minimum.
UKIP man Gary Johnson is a former Lib Dem councillor and was mayor of Thatcham in 2014.
He made the Newbury Weekly News front page when he made his switch to UKIP.
Mr Johnson is the regional chairman for the south east region for the party, covering the Thames Valley, Hampshire and Essex.
Brexit was the main turning point for the former Lib Dem, who moved to Thatcham in 1986.
He stood in the West Berkshire Council election for Thatcham West ward but lost to Lib Dems Jeff Brooks and Justin Pemberton.
He said residents had been asking him to stand in the by-election after being left dissatisfied with the Conservatives and Lib Dems.
“I want to be a thorn in the backside of these politicians that we have got in office at the moment,” he said.
“The public have had nobody.
“It is always nice to get asked and I am happy to step forward.
“I am a people’s person. I have been there and I have done that. I can continue to do this if [people] vote for me.”
Mr Johnson’s main concerns are with the cost of green bins – which he hoped the Lib Dems would have completely eradicated by now – and road conditions.
He said large speed bumps are damaging cars, as are potholes.
And standing for the Lib Dems is local business man David Lunn who has never stood for town council before.
The Chapel Row man says he wants to get into politics because he is fascinated by people.
“An opportunity came up,” he said.
“I have had a business in Thatcham for seven years now and it is nice chatting with people.
“One of the reasons I want to do this is because I get a lot of information from people in the shop about what people are not happy with and that sort of stuff.
“I am just interested in people.”
Mr Lunn’s partner Jay Lunn – with whom he runs his high street business Picture It Framed – is currently sitting on the town council.
His main concern is with the prospect of 2,500 homes coming to Thatcham as a part of the local plan. He said there is not enough infrastructure to support this and hopes he can reduce the number of houses in the town.