Conservatives announce new leader in Buckinghamshire after losing control of council

A total of 48 Tory councillors were elected to Buckinghamshire Council during last week’s local elections – one short of the 49 required for a majority.

The results mean the unitary authority’s Tory bloc shrinks to less than half – whereas 77 per cent of councillors were Conservative at the 2021 elections.

Despite some voters abandoning the party for Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats, the new Bucks Tory leader Steve Broadbent struck an optimistic tone on Monday evening.

In a press release, he said: “Since its creation in 2020 Buckinghamshire Council has been a great example of an efficient, well-run council, delivering for residents.

“That’s why local voters have put their faith in the Conservatives again, delivering us almost double the seats of the next largest party.”

The Liberal Democrats won 27 seats on the council, while Independents took 11, Labour four, Reform three, Greens two and Wycombe Independents two.

Councillor Broadbent, who retained his seat in the Ridgeway East ward, previously served as deputy leader and cabinet member for transport.

He was unanimously elected local party leader at a Sunday meeting of the Tories following the decision by council leader Councillor Martin Tett to step down.

Councillor Broadbent said he was ‘honoured and delighted’ to win the backing of his colleagues and said he ‘paid tribute’ to Councillor Tett for his ‘sterling service’ to Bucks residents.

He added: “Last week’s result is a highly notable achievement given the picture across the rest of the country.

“It gives us a strong mandate to take the council forward and we look forward to forming the new administration when councillors meet later this month.”

Councillor Broadbent was not available for comment. Tory Councillor Peter Brazier, who sent out the press release, was asked about the council now being under no overall control and whether his party would form a coalition with another party.

He told the LDRS: “It is a possibility, and I wouldn’t take anything off the table. But that really is a question for Steve now as the leader, to work out how – as the largest party – we are going to operate.”

Buckinghamshire has long been Conservative, with the party winning a huge majority of 113 seats out of 147 during the 2021 elections.

But the council – which reduced in size to 97 seats this time around – saw the election of its first ever Reform councillors last week, echoing the gains made by Nigel Farage’s party at other councils.

Councillor Tett told the LDRS on election night that Reform had damaged the Tory vote, while warning that the party falling into no overall control could stifle good decision making and lead to ‘very unstable leadership for potentially four years’.