By Wokingham Borough Council leader, Stephen Conway

Local councils need to be able to work collaboratively with their MPs to promote and defend the interests of the people whom they are all there to serve.   

Wokingham Borough Council is no exception. We need to ensure that in Westminster and Whitehall our voice is heard, and our challenges are understood.  

Until this recent general election, Wokingham had four MPs representing different areas of the borough, with John Redwood as MP for Wokingham (covering most of the borough), Theresa May as MP for Maidenhead (covering the northern part of the borough), Matt Rodda as MP for Reading East (which took in parts of the eastern edge of the borough), and James Sunderland, MP for Bracknell (who represented borough residents in the far south east).

I tried to work with all these MPs, and it’s fair to say that I received a varied response. I found Theresa May and Matt Rodda particularly helpful and want to thank them. Mrs May, especially, used her influence to Wokingham’s benefit.

The new parliamentary boundaries have simplified the situation. Rather than four MPs, there are now two – Clive Jones for Wokingham and Yuan Yang for the new Early and Woodley constituency.

Clive, of course, I know well. He was my predecessor as leader of the council, and I served as his deputy from 2022 to 2023. 

He is very familiar with the challenges the council faces, particularly the lack of core revenue support from central government. I know he will do all he can to help us.

I had the pleasure of meeting Labour’s Yuan Yang at the election count. She is an impressive person, whom I feel confident I can work with constructively.

A lot has changed, both in the country and in Wokingham. I look forward to embracing the positive possibilities that change offers.