THE LEADER of Reading Conservatives has promised that his party will be back, after it lost its status as official opposition in this year’s local election.
The party lost three seats, including one in Caversham Heights, meaning it now has six seats, one fewer than Reading Greens.
But party leader Clarence Mitchell has promised that the party will carry on representing residents in the council chamber and with their issues.
“It would be foolish to deny that we’re not disappointed with this result,” he told Reading Today. “Of course, you don’t want to lose a third of the group in one go.
“But that said, it’s not the disaster that many commentators were predicting for the party across the country, and we have simply reflected the national trend here in Reading.”
He continued: “Sadly, we are no longer the official opposition on the council, but we will still be holding Labour and the Greens fully to account for all of their actions.
“We will make sure that we still represent everybody who was kind and good enough to vote.”
Cllr Mitchell said that the party would continue to be a “vocal opposition”.
“Under my leadership, I’m determined that we get an even higher profile, even if we don’t have the seats this time,” he said.
“There’s another election for a third of the council next year, there are lots of opportunities to come where we will continue to make the case for lower council tax, better services, and a council that listens to residents rather than ignoring them, particularly over planning applications.
“We’re going to continue to challenge everything to ensure that the endemic congestion, for example, that Reading suffers is eased where possible.”
He added: “(Reading Conservatives) are not going anywhere.
“We are still effectively the voice of opposition, the voice of sensible, low tax, economically responsible Conservativism in Reading.”
Cllr Mitchell said that Partygate had been “undoubtably a factor” in the change in the national mood, but he wasn’t going to blame that for his party’s fortunes in this election.
“We were finding that many staunch Conservative voters were not going to vote for us this time,” he said.
“Locally, we made the case on the door and people understand (this election was) about local services, and (the Reading party) was not responsible (for Partygate).
“I’m afraid the brand of the party has been damaged by that, and it’s going to take some time to recover.
“Partygate was a factor, but that’s not being offered as an excuse.”
He said Reading Conservatives had been hopeful of getting “a gain or two” in the election, but that wasn’t to be.
“In a ‘normal year’ (where the council was elected in thirds) the party would have been in an even stronger position,” Cllr Mitchell said.
“But we haven’t been wiped out despite what some commentators may claim.”
He promised: “We will continue to work closely with Westminster but, through our MPs locally, and through our own voice and local government channels, we will make it quite clear that lessons must be learned from this.
“We will fight on to improve representation for Reading as a whole.”
And Cllr Mitchell wanted to thank the thousands of people across the town who had voted for the Conservatives “despite the national mood”.
“Our key message is that we are going to continue to represent everyone who has entrusted us with their support to the best of our abilities,” he promised.
“This Labour-run administration has been in power for too long. Frankly, in my view, it’s become complacent.
“It doesn’t listen to people’s objections, particularly around planning applications and, on top of that, we will always argue for lower council tax, and we’ll do what we can to assist on the cost of living.
“I’m acutely aware of the problems that many people in Reading and beyond are facing, we are not ignoring that in any shape or form.
“We have a reduced capacity in the council chamber now, but that will not diminish our voice.”
