Crispin Blunt

Conservative Party | Reigate

MP welcomes local election results

Thursday night saw David Cameron’s Conservatives exceed everyone’s expectations with a string of victories across the UK. Locally the Conservatives gained a seat each from Labour and the Liberal Democrats on Reigate and Banstead Borough Council. In Earlswood and Whitebushes  Alison Berridge took a seat off the Labour Party and in Merstham Graeme Crome took a seat of the Liberal Democrats. Other Conservative candidates significantly increased their majority and the results prove that even defending a high base the Conservatives in Reigate continue to make progress.

These results were reflected in a night that saw Conservatives take more that 300 council seats and win control of councils across the country, doing especially well in London.

Crispin Blunt, Member of Parliament for Reigate said:

‘I am delighted for Ali and Graeme and indeed for all the successful Conservative candidates. Not only do these results show that local people are confident that the Conservatives are running their Borough Council efficiently and delivering local services but they also show that the continued hard work of a vibrant and, I am pleased to say, increasingly young local Conservative Association is delivering victories for our party. Substantial help was given to Mole Valley and I’m pleased that the Conservatives have finally taken control of the council there – for the first time ever. It has been a long time coming since the creation of Mole Valley as a District Council in 1973.

Crispin Blunt went on to say:

‘Defeat for the Labour Party locally was made worse by the incompetence of the national government. The Prime Minister’s ill-starred reshuffle shows how panicky New Labour has become. It is quite extraordinary that Patricia Hewitt remains in her post as Health Secretary and that John Prescott loses all his responsibilities but keeps his salary and two grace and favour homes. The real story of Thursday night is that the Conservatives have every prospect of replacing this tired and discredited government at the next General Election.’