The Green Party won a seat in east Reading by just TEN votes from Labour, who kept their strong Reading Borough Council (RBC) majority at the May 2021 local elections.
David McElroy received 1,009 votes to beat Labour candidate Andrew Hornsby-Smith, who got 999 votes – just ten less.
READ MORE: Reading's local election results as winners are declared - as it happened
Labour councillor Tony Jones had stood down from the seat after 30 years of service.
All other wards stayed with the same party as 17 councillors were elected, including three new members, with Labour now holding a 12-seat majority.
@readingcouncil Redlands results in:
— Tevye Markson (@TevyeMarksonLDR) May 7, 2021
GREEN GAIN
Andrew Hornsby-Smith Labour 999
Francis Jakeman Lib Dems 84
David McElroy Green 1,009
Shekhar Natarajan Conservative 319
More like Greenlands, Amiright?!
— BoysFromTheBalticStar (@BoysBaltic) May 7, 2021
Blimey… that was close.
— James Gore (@James_Gore1) May 7, 2021
My old ward! So happy to see this 💚 https://t.co/RIpPptMJZA
— Kat 💚 (@_politicalkat) May 7, 2021
Talking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Reading’s Green group leader Rob White said the election was “really positive”.
“He’s been working hard all year round, knocking on doors, talking to people, working to improve the area.
“We hoped based on that hard work that people would vote Green and it is reassuring when they do go out and vote for someone that is making the difference.
“He has also been standing up for residents on things the east Reading MRT, he has pledged to protect the Thameside, and he’s been working really hard on the campaign we’ve been running to get the council to insulate more houses in the town.”
There had to be a recount due to the vote being so close, but just one vote was found to be incorrect, reducing the margin of Cllr McElroy’s victory from 11 votes to ten.
Cllr White said: “I was feeling stressed and I wasn’t the candidate. It would have been good to have had a bigger majority but he got over a thousand votes and increased the vote on last time.”
And he said he hopes to increase the number of Green councillors in Reading to nine at the next election, which will be all-out elections with new ward boundaries.
Elsewhere, the Labour-Tory battleground in Kentwood was held by Labour’s Daya Pal Singh, who fended off Tory candidate Nick Fudge by just 38 votes.
The Conservatives had won in the ward in 2018 and 2019 and have the two other seats in the ward.
Councillor Jason Brock, leader of RBC, said: “I am so pleased Daya Pal Singh has managed to hold onto the seat and I think that tells you something about the work Dala Pal puts in.”
READ MORE:Reading Borough Council election full results list
Discussing the results overall, he added: “I think when you look at the national context of Labour’s results, you’ve got to say what we have achieved in Reading is quite tremendous.
“It’s really disappointing to lose a seat by just ten votes but overall this is an absolute vindication of our politics here in Reading where we’ve focused on delivering for our communities and investing in our town.”
And he said he is “quite sure” some of the seats Labour has lost to the Greens in recent years will return back to Labour at next year’s all-out elections.
Cllr Brock added: “We will take the time to reflect on what we need to do to ensure we are delivering exactly what those residents in east Reading want.”
Kentwood results in:
— Tevye Markson (@TevyeMarksonLDR) May 7, 2021
VERY CLOSE. LABOUR HOLD
Gary Costner Lib Dems 198
Nick Fudge Conservatives 1,135
Daya Pala Singh Labour 1,173
Anthea West Green 204
Turnout 37 per cent
That’s because Mr DP Singh is a person of integrity. People know that when they see it
— Jane Griffiths (@JaneGriffiths3) May 7, 2021
Never think your vote doesn’t matter. https://t.co/vzwyd5WBi3
— Adele Barnett-Ward (@AdeleCaversham) May 7, 2021
Other interesting results include the Green Party coming close to Labour in Katesgrove, losing by just 70 votes, and Labour increasing its majority in Caversham, while the Conservatives kept hold of their two seats in Peppard in a double-election.
The three new councillors are Mr McElroy, Alice Mpofu-Coles (Whitley, Labour) and Clarence Mitchell (Peppard, Conservative).
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