Reform UK made a strong showing in Westbury at the local elections last week, winning two of the four Wiltshire Council seats in a major breakthrough for the party both locally and countywide.
Boaz Barry was elected in Westbury North, defeating long-standing Liberal Democrat councillor Carole King, while Robert Smith won in Westbury West, unseating Matt Dean, who had stood as an Independent.
In Westbury East, Gordon King held the seat for the Liberal Democrats with a significant majority, while Mike Phillips was elected in the Ethandune division for the Conservatives following the retirement of Cllr Suzanne Wickham.
Speaking after his win, Robert Smith said, “I’ve had a massive amount of support – it’s been amazing. I’ve lived and worked in Westbury for over 20 years, and like a lot of people, I think we all need change and we all need to get back to common sense.”
He added that a top priority for him on Wiltshire Council will be challenging wasteful spending. “There’s money being wasted on things that are pointless and daft. We need to seriously look at how the council’s money is being spent.”
Boaz Barry said the result in Westbury North came as a surprise given the previous strong Liberal Democrat vote share in his ward at the last local election, but said he quickly realised the mood on the doorstep had shifted. “Straightaway through campaigning, I got the feeling that the people of Westbury are ready for change. They maybe felt they weren’t quite represented how they wanted to be.”
He said his top concerns include halting the proposed incinerator and pushing for a long-awaited bypass for Westbury. “We shouldn’t have an A-road going through our beautiful market town – and especially not with the possibility of the incinerator and added traffic. I will fight my hardest to delay or hopefully get rid of the whole idea.”
Heavy losses for Conservatives
The results in Westbury reflect the wider shift across Wiltshire, where the Conservatives suffered heavy losses, falling from 61 seats in 2021 to 37 – a drop of 24 seats. The Liberal Democrats are now the largest party on Wiltshire Council with 43 seats, while Reform UK, standing in their first county council election, gained 10 seats.
Since no party has achieved overall control (enough seats to hold a majority), discussions are expected to take place in the coming days to determine how the authority will be run going forward.
On the rise of Reform, Boaz said, “It’s a good foothold and that’s what we wanted in Wiltshire. This is the right step towards the next four years.”
He added, “I would like to pay tribute to Carole King for her many years of dedication and service to our community. I wish her all the best for the future.
“My congratulations go to all those elected to represent Westbury, whether on the town council or at the county level. I firmly believe that when it comes to delivering for our community, We must all work together, across all divides, to ensure Westbury gets the attention and investment it deserves.”
Robert added, “We’re a new party, but we’ve done really well. Ten seats – that’s a good place to start.”
On Westbury Town Council, the only contested seat was in Westbury North, where five councillors were elected: Mark Bailey and Radek Evans (both Independent), Carole King and Paulina Ulatowska (both Liberal Democrats), and Mike Sutton (Labour).
In all other town council wards, the number of candidates did not exceed the available seats, so those candidates are elected unopposed.
Wiltshire Council election results in full:
Ethandune
Asela Bandara (Ref) 383
Zeb Mackintosh (LD) 466
Mike Phillips (Con) 553
Turnout: 35.60%
Westbury East
Marek Grzegorczyk (Con) 155
Gordon King (LD) 672
Jim Quinn (Ref) 336
Sarah Wiseman (Grn) 68
Turnout: 29.44%
Westbury North
Boaz Barry (Ref) 445
Carole King (LD) 389
Michael Sutton (Lab) 78
Lewis Wakeford (Con) 104
Turnout: 27.23%
Westbury West
Stephen Cooper (LD) 113
Matthew Dean (Ind) 271
Benjamin Owen (Con) 111
Jane Russ (Lab) 139
Robert Smith (Ref) 377
Turnout: 22.67%
