Party positions in Cherwell elections: who’s promising what?
06/05/2026
The future direction of the Cherwell district is in your hands
Tomorrow (Thursday) voters in the Cherwell district will head to polling stations to elect councillors to represent them for just over one-third of the seats at Cherwell District Council.
Social media is being flooded with claims, counter-claims, accusations and promises, but how will the decision of the electorate actually affect our daily lives?
This isn’t a national election, so those elected won’t have any say in areas such as immigration, the NHS, policing or law-making. This isn’t even a county council election, so the state of the roads, schools and social care (which are all county council functions) aren’t really relevant.
Councillors elected tomorrow will be able to influence areas such as planning decisions, waste collections, environmental health and the strategic direction of the district.
So who is promising what?
Liberal Democrats
Having taken charge at Cherwell following the last local elections in 2024, the Liberal Democrats want to focus on what they have achieved for the district. They are promoting delivering a balanced budget, maintaining funding for Banbury Museum and introducing kerbside glass collections, along with maintaining fortnightly bin collections.
However, the future of general waste collections every other week after this year remains in question, with next year’s budget for the service cut. The policies of the Liberal Democrat run County Council, where a number of our district councillors also serve, will no doubt play on voters’ minds, with the state of roads, local children being allocated school places in Bicester and 20 mile-per-hour zones recent issues for some people.
Council Leader David Hingley is one of those who needs to public’s support – he is due for re-election in Adderbury, Bloxham and Bodicote.
Conservatives
The Conservatives are focusing on maintaining fortnightly bin collections, stopping over-development in local villages and offering free peak-time parking.
But voters may recall the huge amount of development which has already taken place in our area is in part thanks to the previous Conservative administration at Cherwell, which took extra government money in return for agreeing to a higher level of building in the district. They were also responsible for the purchase of the Castle Quay Shopping Centre and have previously been against free town centre parking.
The leader of the Conservative Group is Eddie Reeves – he is defending his seat in Deddington.
Labour
Many will see the result of tomorrow’s vote as a public statement on the performance of the Labour government, with Prime Minister Kier Starmer’s own approval rating at low levels and his government embroiled in a number of scandals.
Against that local Labour candidates want to focus on issues such as delivering more genuinely affordable homes, tackling energy efficiency in homes and addressing climate change. They also want to talk about creating dynamic town centres and ensuring a fair deal for local villages.
The Labour group leader Andrew Crichton is amongst those seeking re-election in Banbury Hardwick.
Reform UK
There is much anticipation as to the performance of Reform UK tomorrow. Two years ago they didn’t field any candidates to serve on Cherwell District Council; this time they have people standing everywhere. They want to take control of the council’s salary bill and eliminate waste in areas such as the use of agency staff. Scrapping business rates for small businesses to support the high street and removing net zero targets are also being promoted.
But voters will be interested in the performance of nearby West Northamptonshire Council, which has been under the control of Reform UK for the last year. There, council tax has continued to rise, there has been uproar over the proposal for new parking charges in Brackley and general waste collections are being reduced to every third week.
Greens
The Greens will also be under the spotlight tomorrow. With a surge in their support across the country they will be hoping to increase from their current 4 councillors. Under the banner “hope not hate”, their candidates have been focusing on national issues and local areas such as addressing potholes, opposing cuts to the fire service, clearing drains to avoid flooding and protecting green spaces.
However, should they be elected as district councillors many of these issues would be outside their control as they are functions of the county council or government.
Others
In addition to the main parties there are also a number of independent or smaller party candidates standing in some of the wards.
You can see a full list of all the candidates here. Polling stations open so you can cast your vote tomorrow at 7am.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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