We hold all 15 seats on Whitehill Town Council (since May 2019), the Hampshire County Council seat covering Whitehill, Bordon and Lindford (since May 2021) and all six East Hampshire District Council seats that cover Whitehill, Bordon, Lindford and Greatham (since May 2023). We are local people and our purpose is to represent and stand up for our community as a local group, not a national political party.
ANDY TREE AND ADEEL SHAH JOIN CABINET OF EAST HAMPSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL 18 May 2023
Adeel Shah is Portfolio Holder for Communities and Engagement across East Hampshire.
Andy Tree is Portfolio Holder for Whitehill & Bordon Area and is also Deputy Leader of the Council.
In addition, our other four members are Assistant Portfolio Holders and Catherine Clark also becomes ceremonial Vice Chairman of the Council.
STATEMENT FROM ANDY TREE, PARTY LEADER, dated 17 May 2023:
“It has now been almost two weeks since our Whitehill & Bordon Community Party group won the six seats on East Hampshire District Council (EHDC), on 4 May. Having quite literally spent every day working on this (as my wife would confirm!), our group have now agreed and concluded a special arrangement moving forward. What is most exciting of all is the negotiated policy announcements that will follow in the coming weeks. Look out for them and we will be judged by what we actually ACHIEVE for you, within the context of what EHDC has the power to do.
What became clear last week is that fellow residents voted for us and not Conservatives or Lib Dems and so many wanted neither of them to have power over Whitehill, Bordon, Lindford and Greatham at EHDC! This has given me a huge challenge as to how to ensure voter choice is respected but facing the reality that we only hold 6 seats out of 43 and need support from others to get what we want, with the Conservatives holding the most seats. Also difficult when cllrs from other parts of East Hampshire (from all the parties) have their own agenda for their own area!
We are a localist grassroots party that puts our community first and is fighting for a fair share of EHDC resources for Whitehill, Bordon, Lindford and Greatham. Frankly, the Conservatives do not deserve to rule unchallenged but it is also a fantasy to think the Alton-centric Lib Dems are the answer to all our problems either.
A standard coalition where we would have to side with Conservatives or Lib Dems on every decision and be a ‘poodle’ like Lib Dems were to Conservatives at national level between 2010-15 was ultimately not acceptable to us and clearly not acceptable to fellow residents who kindly gave us feedback through social media and other channels. Thank you to all those who took the time to comment or contact me, it is appreciated.
The default and easy option would be to sit back, side with no one and allow Conservatives to carry on ruling over us in a minority administration, as the largest party. After a lot of thinking and work, we have come up with a bespoke and better option than all of the above…
We have punched above our weight by negotiating delegated authority to me and other Whitehill & Bordon Community Party Councillors to oversee EHDC strategy and policy in Whitehill, Bordon Lindford and Greatham, also with a commitment to look at delegating further powers to the town council which we control in full. The legal mechanism for this is for me to hold a cabinet position as Deputy Leader and portfolio holder for Whitehill & Bordon area and other Whitehill & Bordon Community Party members holding cabinet and assistant portfolio positions, which respects what residents voted for. More details will follow once formally approved Thur evening (18 May.)
Crucially, the deal agreed allows us to vote AGAINST any Conservative policy at EHDC that we feel would be detrimental to Whitehill, Bordon, Lindford and Greatham. This means we are not in a traditional ‘coalition’ or offering blind ‘confidence and supply’, instead keeping our independent ability to represent you and vote on what we think best for our community, which is what our group is all about.
Our written pledge before the election was: “We pledge to try and achieve results for our community by working constructively with councillors of ALL parties and on all levels, but to never shy away from fighting your corner if we feel Whitehill, Bordon, Lindford or Greatham are being short-changed!” Aside from having delegated powers for our area, we have sought to be responsible and create a new EHDC way of working that tries to bring all political sides together. The Conservatives are the largest party and remain in administration but the Lib Dems as second largest party now get a new meaningful role as Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee. This is something we have negotiated that they didn’t hold before and will allow them to contribute as part of the greater team effort. The Lib Dems had already agreed to support the Conservative budget earlier this year and so this collaborative working has already been happening at local level.
I hope both Conservatives and Lib Dems will support us as we move forward and I expect the Conservative leadership to work hard to support our efforts. I will be listening to good ideas from both sides and at local level there is a better way than ‘us and them!’
This is a new and untested way of working and we hope we will have your support moving forward. Look out for exciting policy announcements in the coming weeks and JUDGE US on what we achieve over the coming years, within the context of what EHDC has the power to do. We have not become the national government but we can make a positive difference! Thank you for reading.”
*** 4 MAY 2023 – ALL SIX of our candidates elected onto East Hampshire District Council ***
Thank you so much to everyone who voted for us! We now hold the balance of power of the ‘hung’ no overall control council, with no party reaching the overall majority threshold of 22 seats out of 43!
In addition to winning the East Hampshire District Council seats, we held 10 Whitehill Town Council seats unopposed and won the contested 5 seats up for election in Whitehill Hogmoor ward.
*** ANNOUNCEMENT 30 MAR 2023 – WHITEHILL & BORDON COMMUNITY PARTY TO TAKE OUR FIGHT TO REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF FELLOW RESIDENTS TO THE NEXT LEVEL ***
You do not have to stop supporting the national party of your choice to vote for us locally. If elected, we will push for an East Hampshire District Council with WHITEHILL, BORDON, LINDFORD AND GREATHAM at the HEART of its policies!
Having won the town council elections in May 2019, the Whitehill & Bordon Community Party are to now stand candidates for the six East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) seats that cover Whitehill, Bordon, Lindford and Greatham, for 4 May 2023 local elections. This will be the first time we stand for EHDC, in addition to defending the 15 Whitehill Town Council Seats. (Updated 18 April 2023: ‘Our candidates’ page has our profiles that you can access using menu link at top of this page, which includes our candidates for East Hampshire District Council and Whitehill Town Council.)
*** JAN 2023 – FOUR NEW MEMBERS OF THE WHITEHILL & BORDON COMMUNITY PARTY HAVE JOINED OUR TOWN COUNCIL ***
Linda Delve, Yee Gan Ong, Kirsty Mitchell and Adeel Shah were co-opted onto the grassroots Town Council to fill four vacancies at a formal full council meeting on 12 Jan 2023.
Andy Tree (Leader of the Whitehill & Bordon Community Party & Town Council) says:
“With so many important changes facing Whitehill & Bordon, I am proud to have such high calibre members strengthen what is already an amazing and dedicated team!
We strive to be the voice of our community with the powers above and to work on local projects to benefit fellow residents.
Health Provision is a NUMBER ONE priority and having Yee Gan Ong as a NHS doctor in the team will greatly enhance our ability to interact with the local NHS over local concerns, fighting for facilities we deserve! Linda has already championed Climate Awareness as a volunteer working with Town Council. Adeel Shah and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to which he belongs did a litter pick around the Forest Centre early on New Years Day, which made it into the Bordon Herald edition of 12 Jan! Kirsty in her own words has an interest in everything and is strong and focused!
*** MAY 2021 – ANDY TREE ELECTED TO HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL ***
Thank you so much to everyone who voted for our party leader ANDY TREE on 6th May!
Correct as of May 2021, Andy Tree is now one of 78 Hampshire County Councillors, made up as follows:
Our election leaflet was delivered across the area and an electronic copy can be opened by clicking on this link: Hampshire County Council election 2021
*** NEWS 8TH APRIL 2021 ***
ANDY TREE TO STAND FOR ELECTION TO HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
WE DID IT!!! WE WON THE TOWN COUNCIL ELECTIONS ON 2ND MAY 2019!
Thank you to everyone who voted for us!
So much is at stake in Whitehill & Bordon. New houses are built and now we must fight for the facilities to follow. Whether you have lived here all your life or moved into one of the new houses last week, everyone has something in common: everyone has been promised a regenerated town with a proper town centre, shops, cinema and facilities. Whilst there have been some positive developments such as the new school and swimming pool, opened in 2020, there are also areas of deep concern such as public transport and health provision when services are being moved to Alton Community Hospital and we are told there are plans for a different Health Hub! We are local people and our purpose is to represent and stand up for our community!
Greenspace, woodland and protecting mature trees is important to us and we have vowed to protect Greenspaces under town council control.
ABOUT US:
We are a group of individuals and councillors from the local community who want to sweep aside national party politics from Whitehill Town Council and instead represent the views of local residents as a local independent force.
The world of politics is an interesting one at present. We feel there has never been a greater appetite for positive change.
We feel residents are tired of national party fighting and national party politics influencing local council decisions. We offer something different – something better – something that really represents the views of the local community.
OUR FIRST ATTEMPT BACK IN 2017….
Our first test was on 4th Sep 2017 where we were stunned and delighted to win 41% of the popular vote as a combined total across two by-elections held on the same day – a larger share of the vote than any other political party! Andy Tree (Deadwater Ward candidate) was elected with an overall majority of 57%, and Jason Toovey (Hogmoor Ward candidate) received almost 1 in 4 votes!!
“Thank you to everyone who voted for me. I couldn’t have done it without you!”
– Andy Tree, 5th Sep 2017.
Printed (hosted) by WordPress. Published and Promoted by A Tree on behalf of Whitehill & Bordon Community Party, A Tree, C Clark, B Kennard, J Strickland, L Scott, R Russell, J Fryer, M Steevens, A Shah, K Mitchell, Y Ong, L Delve, L Malikoff-Johnston, P Flux, R Hay. All at 19 Grayshott Laurels, Bordon GU35 0QB.
The Whitehill & Bordon Community Party is registered with the Electoral Commission as a political party in Great Britain to field candidates in England and full details can be viewed here: http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Registrations/PP12702 . Our previous registration as a minor party was from 12/06/2017 – 16/12/2020.
We hold all 15 seats on Whitehill Town Council (since May 2019), the Hampshire County Council seat covering Whitehill, Bordon and Lindford (since May 2021) and all six East Hampshire District Council seats that cover Whitehill, Bordon, Lindford and Greatham (since May 2023). We are local people and our purpose is to represent and stand up for our community as a local group, not a national political party.
