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24
Apr 2022
No Conservatives standing for Ripon City Council elections this May
For the first time ever, no Conservative candidates will be seeking election to Ripon City Council on May 5.
The party is fielding candidates though in the election being held on the same day for the new North Yorkshire Council.
The apparent bloc decision means the Conservatives have disengaged from grassroots parish politics in the city with devolution less than a year away.
Who is standing in the Ripon City Council election?
While the ballot for Ripon's two seats on the new unitary North Yorkshire authority will be hotly-contested, the election for the 12 city council seats is looking more clear cut.
In the Minster Ward, Independents Pauline McHardy, Chris Hardisty and Tony Duncan, are already elected, because no other candidates are standing against them.
With no Labour candidates standing either, the nine remaining city council seats in the Moorside, Spa and Ure Bank wards are up for grabs in a two-way fight between the Independents and Liberal Democrats.
In the Moorside Ward, current councillors Peter Horton and Andrew Williams, are standing for the Independents, along with Julia Martin-Long, while Tom Cavell-Taylor and Paul Dinning are standing for the Liberal Democrats.
The Spa Ward sees Barbara Brodigan and Bill Swaney, of the Liberal Democrats, against Independents Jackie Crozier, Stuart Flatley and Walter Woods, while Mayor Eamon Parkin and fellow independents Jo Bate and Sid Hawke are standing for re-election in the Ure Bank ward against Liberal Democrats Libby Clements and Helen Mason.
Disengagement from parish politics
The Conservatives' disengagement from parish council politics, comes at a time when the demise of the Harrogate district, potentially puts greater emphasis on grassroots decision making and the running of services.
In the devolution melting pot are issues such as ownership and operation of assets including Ripon Town Hall, Hugh Ripley Hall, Market Square, Spa Gardens and Spa Park.
Former mayor John Richmond (pictured above) told the Stray Ferret there's a need for the city to be represented from the grassroots upwards.
Mr Richmond emphasised how important it is people vote, saying:
The independent-controlled city council has, with the support of Conservatives, called for assets handed over to Harrogate at the last major local government reorganisation in 1974, to be returned to the city's ownership from the soon to be defunct borough.
The Conservatives have also voted unanimously with the independents over the past two years to freeze the Ripon parish precept and there was also unanimity between the two groups in calling for Homes England to reduce the number of houses at the huge barracks development, amid concerns that the city's road infrastructure could end up in perpetual gridlock.
The need for consensus at grassroots level
Although he is no longer involved in politics or aligned to any party, Mr Richmond remains passionate about the future of the city.
He advised:
Mr Richmond, who was first elected in 1967, when he stood for the Conservatives, subsequently became an Independent and served as Mayor of Ripon in 1975-1976:
He pointed out
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