PERSONAL qualities over party affiliation was the strong message from Westbury voters as they elected their new unitary councillors to Wiltshire Council on Thursday 4th of June.
The Westbury electorate returned one Lib-Dem and two independent councillors to the new Wiltshire Council. The Ethandune and Warminster Without wards were won by Conservative candidates as the Conservatives took control of the new council.
All of the elected councillors had previous experience at either a town, district or county council level.
The results were:
Westbury East: Mike Cuthbert Murray – Independent. Returned with 428 votes (31.2%).
Cllr Cuthbert Murray is a member of Westbury Town Council and owner of Banana Blues barbershop in Westbury High Street.
He said, “I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the residents of Westbury East division for the overwhelming support I received in the local elections.
“I am truly humbled by the trust the people have placed in me to serve them for the next four years, I once again give my thanks and vow to do my best in the job ahead.”
Westbury North: David Jenkins – Liberal Democrats. Returned with 508 votes (47.7%).
David Jenkins was a member of the now defunct West Wiltshire District Council and is president of the Westbury Chamber of Commerce.
He said, “I’d like to give many thanks to all those people in the Westbury area who have supported me throughout the campaign. I’ll do what I can to represent them as best I can in the county.
“Also I’d like to thank those people that have helped me in the campaign itself with regards of the work that was done, as well as the members of the public who have given me the mandate to work for them.”
Westbury West: Russell Hawker – Independent. Returned with 471 votes (48.3%).
Russell Hawker is a town councillor, a member of the now defunct West Wiltshire District Council and is a chartered surveyor.
He said, “I’m very grateful to those who supported me and I’m looking forward to serving all of the electorate in my division. Westbury is one of those towns which has quite a high proportion of issues that still need to be resolved unlike other towns nearby. We are here to tackle those issues.”
Cllr Hawker said the main issues he hoped to make headway on were: The Westbury bypass; implementing the ‘Vision for Westbury’ plan; resolving the issue of the location of Westbury’s new Primary Care Centre; improving car parking in Oldfield Park; and ensuring the community centre and nursery at Leigh Park are built.
Warminster Without (Chapmanslade): Fleur De Rhé-Philipe – Conservative Party. Returned with 999 votes (61.9%).
An experienced councillor, Fleur De Rhé-Philipe represented Westbury on the old Wiltshire County Council.
Ethandune (Villages): Julie Swabey – Conservative Party. Returned with 1004 votes (60.9%).
Cllr Swabey sat on the county council and district council, of which she was a former chairman.
