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May 2025 At County Hall the Conservative Party representation has been cut to 15 seats, resulting in Reform, with 25 seats but no overall majority, taking control. Former acting leader of the council Deborah Taylor, said on Facebook: "We see that people want change and they have voted for the majority group of Reform UK to be in charge at Leicestershire County Council. We have decided that we will be a strong opposition to them.”
Sometimes one can look at the results of an election and can draw no definitive conclusions about how some electors have changed their votes since the previous election. The 2025 County Council election in Groby and Ratby is different : the movement of votes between parties is crystal clear and comparisons with the 2021 is easy, as most things have stayed the same. The number of people voting was only 58 less in 2025, and the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Green Party had candidates in both elections.
What's changed?
But there was one difference which was to have stunning results - the emergence of the Reform Party which received 880 votes locally in May 2025. This represented 9% of all those who were entitled to vote and 28% who those who did vote. Some of those votes may have come from Labour and Green Party supporters, as they lost 232 votes between them, mainly by Labour. But Ozzy O'Shea (Conservative) lost 814 votes, not enough to unseat him because of the massive 2300+ majority he won in 2021. The Lib Dems may be pleased with the result, as Martin Cartwright managed to increase their share of the vote.
Reform took Markfield from the Conservatives with 35.8% of the vote. If this had been replicated in Groby and Ratby it would still be insufficient to challenge Ozzy O’Shea’s substantial majority. One can only speculate on the reason for this commanding lead over the opposition.
Unitary authority proposal
It is unclear whether the outgoing Conservative group’s proposal for a unitary authority was a factor, as Reform is still discussing devolution and how local government services should be organised. Reform say that their new programme, Reimagining the State, will put forward a bold new vision for the role and shape of the State. Early indications in a discussion paper entitled What Power Where? suggest more radical changes and a three tier structure :
Regional would include housing and planning, hospital management, infrastructure projects, fire and police, highways, roads and public transport.
Local would include waste, education (including special educational needs), child and adult care services, health-creation, and emergency planning.
Hyper-local would include neighbourhood scale decision making, civic engagement, volunteer coordination, flood defences, libraries, leisure centres, museums and galleries, green spaces, parking, public conveniences, markets and fairs, neighbourhood scale decision making.
YouGov 2024 survey
But this is probably not a determining factor in the result of the Leicestershire County Council election, and perhaps a YouGov survey of why people voted Labour in the 2024 general election is a better indicator. YouGov found that Britons voted Labour most commonly because they liked another party less, so the County Council election result may reflect the same sentiment, with Reform benefitting following the collapse in Labour support since the General Election.
The person, not the party?
None of this explains how Ozzy O’Shea survived the rout at County Hall, but one explanation may be that there are times when people vote for the person, not the party. Ozzy O’Shea has a reputation as a hands on Councillor who can be contacted easily and will do his best to help anyone with a problem. At times of political uncertainty, when the boat is being rocked, it’s time to collect the dividend from an appreciative electorate who will look beyond party politics.
Candidates elected/votes received
BAKER Geoffrey Andrew 601
BATTY Peter Raymond 83 (Field Head Ward)
BECK Sylvia Mary 682
CLARKE Nathan Kenneth 638
EMMERSON Liz 954
GRIFFITHS Katharine Ann 643
HOLLICK Ted 953
HYDE David Roland John 113 (Field Head Ward)
JONES Natasha Lisa 915
JONES Sandra Joan 699
LINCOLN Carol Ann 601
MULLINS Colin 840
RICHARDSON Gary Kenneth 636
SINGH Harvey 99 (Field Head Ward)
TRIVETT Lesley Elva 601
YORK Carole Judith 932
Not elected/votes received
EVERSON-CRANE James 564
BATTY Jacqualyn 544
HAGAN John Votes: 465
JACKSON Carl George 194
JOHNSON Martin Lewis 63 (Field Head Ward)
COLLINS Laura Jane 218
WILLIS Pam 575
Groby
Candidates elected/votes received
Martin Brett Cartwright, Liberal Democrat 947
Ted Hollick, Liberal Democrat 876
Not elected/votes received
John Hagan, Independent 161
David Roland John Hyde, Conservative 524
Gary Kenneth Richardson, Conservative 617
Kim Paul Robinson, Reform UK 93
Field Head ,Markfield, and Stanton
Elected/votes received
Claire Harris, Conservative 779
Christopher David Lambert, Labour 797
Not elected/votes received
Robert Martin, Labour 674
Leigh Zouga Quilter, Conservative 674
Lisa Wren, Green 195