WE come to our final ward by ward and another tricky one.

As we have detailed earlier, we do these just to remind ourselves of relevant statistics from previous campaigns.

Where UKIP succeeded (and did not) in 2014 and what that could mean for Reform.

The Conservative success of 2021 and Labour success of 2024. The conundrums of wards such as Little Parndon and Mark Hall.

We are not expecting a call from John Curtice but if it keeps our readers informed then that’s the main thing.

But we know we may have had a good campaign when we have had complaints of Tory bias, Labour sympathies, too many Reform stories and a couple of moans from The Greens.

As for this ward. Even looking at a successful year for Labour around the country in 2024, the Conservative vote in this new ward held firm.

That was an impressive 61.7% of the vote from Nicky Purse. Back in the autumn the Conservatives in this ward were pretty pessimistic as every where they went, from Kiln Lane to Chapel Fields, they heard about Reform.

But the last six months feels quite significant. That’s “feels” not “is.

We could be living in a bubble and if Reform sweep the board, then that might be quite a reality check.

Once again, there are some very good candidates here. The Greens’ Paul King has some really good ideas and worth listening to.

Gary Roberts always makes valuable contributions and fights the good fight for Potter Street residents.

Very little is known about the Reform candidate Amanda Maison.

The Conservative candidate James Leppard has been a vital cog in the Dan Sword’s cabinet. In fact we would go a far to say that he is the most important portfolio holder. His knowledge of finance is second to none. That doesn’t mean we will all keep an eye on the council finances.

We know James has had a very difficult year, so whatever happens we wish him all the best.

The big question is here is even if the Conservative vote reduces by a few percentage points and the Labour vote collapses and then Reform benefit, will that be enough for them to win.

We think the Conservatives will have enough.

YH Prediction: Conservative Hold.

List of Candidates are below