Liberal Democrats make gains in Melksham as Conservatives lose control of Wiltshire Council

The Liberal Democrats have made significant gains in the Melksham area following last week’s local elections, as the Conservatives lost overall control of Wiltshire Council. 

The Lib Dems, who held no seats in the area at the last election, won three of the six Wiltshire Council seats covering Melksham. They gained Melksham East, Melksham Forest, and narrowly took Melksham Without West and Rural from long-serving Conservative councillor Jonathon Seed, who also lost his seat at Bromham Parish Council.

In Melksham East, Charlie Stokes replaced Mike Sankey, who was elected as a Conservative in 2021 but left the party in 2023 to sit as an ungrouped councillor. Mike Sankey stood for Reform UK in Calne this year and was elected there.

In Melksham Forest, Jennie Westbrook took the seat for the Liberal Democrats, while Andrew Griffin secured a victory for the party in Melksham Without West and Rural.

Getting stuck in

Councillor Jennie Westbrook, said, “It’s really great that we’ve managed to take three of the seats. I’m just looking forward to getting stuck in. My biggest thing for Melksham Forest was that I felt it hadn’t had the right representation for the last four years. I don’t think that we had a councillor who was particularly present. So, I really want to make sure that I’m in the community. It’s my community.

“That’s why I stood there, and I want to make sure that the people in Melksham Forest have their voice heard.”

Conservatives Nick Holder (Bowerhill) and Phil Alford (Melksham Without North and Shurnhold) were both re-elected, while Independent Jon Hubbard narrowly held on in Melksham South, just ahead of both the Conservative and Reform UK candidates.

Reform UK made a significant impact across the area, particularly in Melksham South and Melksham Without West and Rural, where they secured strong vote shares. This follows the national trend, with the party also making significant gains in other regions.

  Conservatives suffer heavy losses

The results in Melksham 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 Melksham Town Council, the only contested seat saw Conservative Phil Alford and Liberal Democrat Saffi Rabey elected. In all other town council wards and all Melksham Without Parish Council wards, the number of candidates did not exceed the available seats, so those candidates are elected unopposed.

Wiltshire Council election results in full:

Melksham East

Gillian Elson (Con) 206

Gary Fossey (Ind) 109

Charlie Stokes (LD) 383

Angela Wallace (Ref) 262

Turnout: 23.35%

Melksham Forest

Rachel Edwards (Grn) 73

Jack Oatley (Con) 218

Tracey Toomey (Ref) 332

Jennie Westbrook (LD) 457

Turnout: 27.63%

Melksham South 

Jenny Crossley (LD) 172

Simon Crundell (Con) 339

Roderick Eaton (Ref) 331

Jon Hubbard (Ind) 362

Steve Petty (Grn) 55

Turnout: 32.69%

Melksham Without North & Shurnhold

Phil Alford (Con) 645

Pat Aves (LD) 388

David Hathway (Ref) 262

Turnout: 35.65%

Melksham Without West & Rural 

Andrew Griffin (LD) 567

Jon Leach (Ref) 357

Jonathon Seed (Con) 561

Suzi Shingler (Grn) 82

Turnout: 41.25%

Pictured: The LibDem winning candidates on Wiltshire Council – Charlie Stokes, Jennie Westbrook and Andrew Griffin with Saffi Rabey who was elected onto Melksham Town Council