The Devizes Guardians are a local independent political party based in
Devizes
Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...
, Wiltshire, England. The party was formed in 2001 and has been successful in winning seats on
Kennet District Council Kennet may refer to:
Places in the United Kingdom
*Kennet, Clackmannanshire, Scotland
People
*Baron Kennet, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
*D. Mark Kennet (born 1957), American economist
*Josh Kennet (born 1987), English-Israeli ...
and
Wiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council, known between 1889 and 2009 as Wiltshire County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Wiltshire (district), Wiltshire in South West England, and has its headquarters a ...
.
Since 2013, the party has focused its efforts on Devizes Town Council, with a clear focus on representing the four wards of Devizes North, South, East and Roundway, taking an independent and non-partisan approach to local issues; steering clear from national party politics. Devizes Guardians currently hold the majority for the current council.
In January 2025, Devizes Guardians updated their constitution, data protection policy and financial regulations, and re-registered themselves an independent political party in March 2025.
http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Registrations/PP17972
Devizes Guardians nominated candidates for the Devizes Town Council May 1st, 2025 elections, in all of the four electoral wards of Devizes North, South, East and Roundway. They won all 13 seats they stood for.
At a meeting of Full Council on 19
th December 2024 and 13th March 2025 - Devizes Guardians Cllr Jennie Britten and Cllr Vanessa Tanner, were respectively nominated by Devizes Council to the positions of Mayor and Deputy Mayor (elect) for the civic year 2025.
The Devizes Guardians are not bound by any particular ideology nor allegiance to a national political party. Their members represent a range of values from across the political spectrum and bring with them diverse experience. What unites them are shared values that promote a thriving and resilient community and ensuring that all sections in the community are heard and have a voice.
History
The Devizes Guardians were formed in 2001, in the aftermath of the felling of five
London plane
The London plane, or sometimes hybrid plane, ''Platanus'' × ''hispanica'', is a tree in the genus ''Platanus''. It is often known by the Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Platanus'' × ''acerifolia'', a later name. It is a Hybrid (biology ...
trees in the Devizes
Market Place
A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...
,
[Guardians win their first seat on council]
from ''Wiltshire Gazette & Herald'', 25 July 2002
Thursday 8 May 2003, article online at gazetteandherald.co.uk and on 19 June 2002 the new party was registered with the
Electoral Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
under the
Registration of Political Parties Act 1998.
[Devizes Guardians](_blank)
at electoralcommission.org.uk On 18 July 2002 the Devizes Guardians contested and won a
Kennet District Council Kennet may refer to:
Places in the United Kingdom
*Kennet, Clackmannanshire, Scotland
People
*Baron Kennet, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
*D. Mark Kennet (born 1957), American economist
*Josh Kennet (born 1987), English-Israeli ...
by-election in the Devizes East ward, the successful candidate being Tony Duck, who commented "I think there is a movement for more grass roots representation, free from the shackles of party politics and hopefully enabling us to challenge local issues."
[
At the Kennet district elections of May 2003, the party contested three seats, all in Devizes, and won all three, its successful candidates being ]Nigel Carter
Nigel Denys Carter CEnv Energy Institute, FEI Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment, MIEMA (born April 1945) is an English people, English Chartered Environmentalist, politician, member of the Devizes Guardians party since 2002, and ...
(Devizes North), Jeffrey Ody (Devizes South), and Tony Duck (Devizes East). Carter commented to a Wiltshire newspaper "We have to acknowledge there is an element of protest vote
A protest vote (also called a blank, null, spoiled, or "none of the above" vote) is a vote cast in an election to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the choice of candidates or the current political system. Protest voting takes a variety of forms ...
in the support we have had. The question of the future of the hospital has been paramount in the issues expressed by the people we have talked to, with transport coming a close second."[
At the May 2005 county council elections, the party contested two divisions of ]Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire Council, known between 1889 and 2009 as Wiltshire County Council, is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Wiltshire in South West England, and has its headquarters at County Hall in Trowbridge. Since 2009 it has bee ...
, Devizes North and Devizes South, its candidates being Carter and Ody, but was unsuccessful in both.
In the Kennet District Council elections of May 2007, the Guardians won two seats (Ody and Duck being re-elected, but Carter being defeated) and also three on Devizes Town Council, to which Jane Burton, Ted East, and Peter Smith were elected.[Welcome to the web site of The Devizes Guardians]
at devizesguardians.com In that year, the party reported to the Electoral Commission that it had 56 members and that its income and expenditure were both under £2000.
On 1 April 2009, the District of Kennet was abolished as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England
On 1 April 2009 structural changes to local government in England took place which reformed the local government of seven Non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties: Bedfordshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, County Durham, Shropshire, Northumber ...
, and the Devizes Guardians contested four seats in the first elections to the new Wiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council, known between 1889 and 2009 as Wiltshire County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Wiltshire (district), Wiltshire in South West England, and has its headquarters a ...
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
held on 4 June 2009. Its three successful candidates were Ody (Devizes and Roundway South), Carter (Devizes North), and Jane Burton (Devizes East).[Unitary election results '09](_blank)
at wiltshire.gov.uk
At an annual general meeting
An annual general meeting (AGM, also known as the annual meeting) is a meeting of the general membership of an organization.
These organizations include membership associations and companies with shareholders.
These meetings may be required ...
held on 27 October 2009, the party celebrated its successes and stressed the importance of a new public consultation
Public consultation, public comment, or simply consultation, is a process by which members of the public are asked for input on public issues. This can occur in public meetings open to all (such as town hall meetings) in written form (such as in ...
on planning policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. T ...
for Wiltshire.[
At the local elections on 2 May 2013, the Devizes Guardians won more than half the seats on Devizes Town Council, nine out of seventeen, defeating candidates from all three major English parties. However, at the same time they lost all of their places on Wiltshire Council to the Conservatives.
On May 1st 2025, the Devizes Guardians contested 13 of the 20 seats in the town council election. All 13 seats were won.
The registered emblems of the party represent a tree,] and it has been called the "local conservation party".
Officers
The party's registered officers are as follows:
*''Leader'': J. Hunter
*''Nominating Officer'': A. Geddes
*''Treasurer'': P. Tweedle
Wiltshire Council elections, 2009
At the Wiltshire Council elections of 4 June 2009, the party contested four divisions and won three.
See also
* Kennet local elections
*2009 Wiltshire Council election
Elections to Wiltshire Council, a new unitary authority, were held on 4 June 2009.
The whole council of ninety-eight members was up for election, with each member to be elected in a single-member electoral division. None of the new electoral ...
* 2013 Wiltshire Council election
References
External links
*
Your Town Councillors
at devizes-tc.gov.uk
{{Authority control
Political parties established in 2001
Locally based political parties in England
Politics of Wiltshire
Devizes
2001 establishments in England