THE BALANCE of power on Worcester City Council has shifted dramatically after a dramatic night in which the Conservatives lost nearly half their seats at the Guildhall.
All seven of the seats held by the Conservatives were lost on a humbling night, with council leader Chris Mitchell, former Mayor of Worcester Allah Ditta and long-serving councillor Lucy Hodgson among those defeated.
The party’s tally of seats plummeted from 15 to just eight, relegating the Tories from the lead party at the Guildhall to the third party in the chamber.
Labour picked up one seat on the night to take its tally to 13 councillors while the Green Party electoral phenomenon continued with four gains to leave 10 Green Party councillors in the chamber.
The Liberal Democrats were boosted with success in Claines – meaning all three councillors for the area are now Lib Dems – in addition to victory in Warndon Parish North, taking their tally of councillors to four.
The biggest shock of the night came in St Clement where Chris Mitchell lost to Green Party campaigner and parliamentary candidate Tor Pingree.
Having come third in 2019 some 420 votes behind the Conservatives, Coun Pingree notched up an impressive victory by more than 100 votes.
She will be joined in the chamber by Coun Andrew Cross who won Warndon Parish South for the Greens, defeating Lucy Hodgson.
Coun Cross made waves in 2019 when he narrowly lost by just 34 votes – he won the seat four years later by almost 800 votes.
The party completed its clean sweeps in Arboretum and St Peter’s Parish as Coun Hannah Cooper and Coun Elena Round unseated Labour’s Jenny Barnes and a seat held in St Peter’s by former Mayor of Worcester Steve Mackay who stood down at this election.
There was also joy for Labour – despite the loss in Arboretum – with victory in Bedwardine, a safe Tory stronghold in the seat vacated by former city council leader Marc Bayliss.
Coun Sue Smith has spoken of her desire to turn Bedwardine into ‘Redwardine’.
After several years campaigning for a Labour victory in this Tory stronghold, the Bedwardine resident is determined that her win can be the start of a change in leadership for the area.
Coun Smith, who already has an active role in Friends of Pitmaston Park, is the first Labour councillor to represent the area in decades, and the first ever female Labour councillor chosen to serve the area.
“People were genuinely pleased to see a candidate who actually lived in the ward. In the first couple of months of my campaign,” she said.
“I also had several hopeful Parliamentary candidates campaigning alongside me. It not only enabled me to get a lot of ground covered but also gave me the opportunity to observe expert campaigning techniques, and I look forward to working alongside next year’s [council] candidates.”
A leader and deputy leader as well as committee chairs will be appointed at the annual meeting of the council to be held on Tuesday (May 16)
Click here for the results in full.
