The Labour candidate for Bridgwater & West Somerset in 2017 was Sedgemoor District Councillor for Bridgwater,Hamp- Wes Hinckes
The Parliamentary constituency of Bridgwater and West Somerset is traditionally the strongest bastion of Labour support in the County, with the town of Bridgwater regularly returning a majority of Labour Councillors.
In 2017 Wes increased the Labour vote by 11% and the party regained it;s traditional 2nd place.
| Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Conservative |
Ian Liddell-Grainger | Votes 32,111 | 55.1 | +9.2 |
|
Labour |
Wes Hinckes | Votes 16,663 | 28.6 | +11.0 |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Marcus Kravis | Votes 6,332 | 10.9 | -1.6 |
|
UKIP |
Simon Smedley | Votes 2,102 | 3.6 | -15.6 |
|
Green Party |
Kay Powell | Votes 1,059 | 1.8 | -3.0 |
Bridgwater Town Council is Labour-controlled, with 14 Labour Councillors to 1 Conservative and 1 Lib Dem.
Bridgwater Town Council
- Bridgwater Hamp – Adrian Moore & John Turner
- Bridgwater Eastover – Tony Heywood & Dave Loveridge
- Bridgwater Westover – Brian Smedley, Kath Pearce & Pat Morley
- Bridgwater Victoria – Mick Lerry & Siobhan Wilson
- Bridgwater Dunwear South – Leigh Redman
- Bridgwater Dunwear North – Diogo Rodrigues
- Bridgwater Fairfax West – Graham Granter
- Bridgwater Fairfax East -Alex Glassford
- Bridgwater Wyndham – Liz Leavy
Sedgemoor District Council is Conservative controlled, but Labour are the main opposition with 10 Councillors and therefore hold the Chairs of both Scrutiny Committees .
Sedgemoor District Council
- Bridgwater Hamp – Adrian Moore & Wes Hinckes
- Bridgwater Eastover – Chelsea Chadwick & Dave Loveridge
- Bridgwater Westover – Brian Smedley & Kath Pearce
- Bridgwater Victoria – Mick Lerry
- Bridgwater Dunwear – Leigh Redman
- Bridgwater Fairfax – Graham Granter & Alex Glassford
Bridgwater returned 2 out of 4 Labour County Councillors at the 2017 County Council elections and only a few years ago returned all 4.
Somerset County Council
- Bridgwater North & Central -Dave Loveridge
- Bridgwater South -Leigh Redman
The Bridgwater & West Somerset Parliamentary Constituency has been Tory held since the 1940s, when an alliance between Labour, the Liberals and Independents backed the Independent Socialist Vernon Bartlett who was the MP from 1938 to 1950, showing the underlying historic potential to unite behind a progressive cause or Unity candidate. www.vernonbartlett.co.uk
West Somerset
Whilst there are Labour councillors in Minehead and Watchet, the political balance after the 2015 elections saw the Tories take control of the District with 21 councillors to 3 ind, 3 UKIP and 1 Labour
West Somerset District
- Watchet – Peter Murphy
West Somerset Town & Parish
- Watchet Town – Peter Murphy and Robin Nuttall
- Minehead Town – Lesley Culverhouse (Central) Maureen Smith (South)
- Williton Parish – Jenny Koch
At the recent County election in West Somerset, a left-leaning independent was elected in Watchet.