Liberal Democrat Jo Slimin returns to borough council 20 years after last election

Twenty years on from the last time she was elected to the borough council, Liberal Democrat Jo Slimin has returned.

Mrs Slimin won 1,277 votes, beating the Conservative incumbent Derek Mellor (1,178), Green candidate Richard Musson (240) and Hampshire Independents candidate Charlotte Bennett (225).

She has lived in Tadley since 1969 and was previously the Liberal Democrat leader during her first spell on the borough council from 1994 to 1998.

Speaking to the Newbury Weekly News after her election, she said: “I’ve been trying to get back onto the borough council since 2003, and now I have I’m over the moon.

“I can’t really believe it.

“The political climate has changed a lot and that’s always the way we are in Tadley, we’re very much with the political stance that’s going on around the country.

“Usually we go against it, we usually do better in Tadley than we do in the nationals.

“But we lost two seats last year, which was devastating for us, so to think I [and Kerry Morrow] have been re-elected is just fantastic.

“We can have another voice against the Conservatives, and that’s what I believe people in my area voted for.

“An alternative, strong voice to talk for people who aren’t necessarily Conservative.”

Mrs Slimin said her first priority was to make sure the council was delivering on its green agenda.

She continued: “We’ve got the climate emergency and the environmental emergency, but we’re not doing enough as far as I’m concerned.

“I’d like to think we can put forward some ideas of things we can do to actually get people much more involved, get people’s homes much better insulated, give them better energy use in there so they can cut their costs.

“The cost-of-living crisis is hitting people in Tadley as it is everywhere.

“Anything we can do to help people reduce their bills is absolutely essential.”