LABOUR’S newest councillor said that she certainly wasn’t expecting to be at the centre of a “political earthquake”.
Sue Kitchingham made history by winning a seat in the traditionally Conservative ward of Caversham Heights, with 1343 votes.
One of the last wards to be declared, she came second to Tory winner Isobel Ballsdon (1629 votes), and just three votes ahead of third placed Conservative Paul Carnell on 1340.
She polled 400 votes more than Labour’s last placed candidate, Vikram Duhan, who had 974.
“I’m surprised, and I am also thoroughly delighted,” she said.
“I’m going to give it my all to do the best job I can of being a councillor because I absolutely believe it’s important. I’m honoured to have the opportunity to do it.”
Ms Kitchingham said that on the doorsteps, she had heard from residents angry with the national government.
“There’s a lot of discontent towards them,” she said. “Obviously, a local election is a way of making a protest vote.
“I think there’s a lot of feeling now that the Labour Party is in for a revival. Things had been getting a bit rocky in the last couple of years, but it’s not going much more smoothly and effectively.
“I regard that as a good endorsement of the Labour Party nationally, as well as the efforts from my fellow candidates and I in Caversham Heights.”
She said this included placing a lot of leaflets through letterboxes, and the hard work had paid off.
But she wasn’t planning to stop and celebrate her success.
“When I left the house to get to the count, I had quite a lot of work to do. I now have a little bit more,” she said. “I will be working on my priorities, and get stuck in.”
