Dear Member,

I thought that I should give you an update on the Local Elections which took place last week.

As you are probably aware, the results across BCP Council were extremely disappointing, meaning a greatly reduced Conservative Group with just 12 Councillors out of a total of 76.  We are now the second largest party on the Council.  The new administration will be led by the Liberal Democrats, although it remains to be seen with which other parties or groups of Councillors they will form their administration.

Here in Bournemouth West, we saw 7 of our 19 candidates elected. We had an excellent slate of candidates and I have spoken to each of those who lost as I know how disappointed they feel.  However, they are all determined to stay with Bournemouth West and play their part in our recovery for the next local elections in 2027.  I should like to thank each and every one of them for their hard work and engagement in the campaign and look forward to continuing to work with them and all our activists over the months and years ahead.

I should like to take this opportunity to express my enormous gratitude to the Officers of the Association and others throughout what has been a long and challenging campaign.  In particular,  my sincere thanks go to our Election Agent, David Bailey,  the Treasurer Bernard Uzzell, Toby Johnson who did so much in managing the production of literature,  Phil Broadhead the Group Leader, David d’Orton-Gibson the President of the Association, Nicola Greene, Lisle Smith the Dorset Area Chair, Conor Burns our Member of Parliament, and Janice Rowley who manages the BWCA office.

Although we have suffered a major setback, we must all now get behind the PCC election campaign next spring, and most crucially Conor’s re-election in the General Election.  This will obviously occupy most of our time and political effort up until the Autumn 2024.

Thank you for the part you have played in supporting the Party through these difficult times and I look forward to continuing to work with you over the coming months as we plan our strategy and the delivery of our campaigns in the next key elections here in Bournemouth West.

Regards,  John

John Beesley FIH

Chairman

Bournemouth West Conservative Association

Website: www.bournemouthwestconservatives.com

Address: The West Wing, 3 Lorne Park Road, Bournemouth, BH1 1AH