• The people have spoken in the local elections although not everyone agrees about what they have said.  The national leaders of the two main parties were quick to say that it was a clear message to get on with Brexit (each using the opportunity to have a swipe at the other for holding the process up). If so, it’s odd that the only parties that gained seats were the ones opposed to Brexit at all. A reaction against council cuts probably played its part, as did a general apathy with the political process. The main reason was probably that people wanted a change, as they do. In areas where the ruling party is perceived to have not done very well the result is likely to be more emphatic.

Change was certainly what they got in the Vale of White Horse, where the Conservatives suffered one of their heaviest defeats, losing 23 of their 29 seats (22 to the Lib Dems and one to the Greens). In West Berkshire, the Tories retained control but with a much smaller majority, the Lib Dems gaining 11 seats and the Greens three. In South Oxfordshire the picture is more complicated, with six parties or groupings represented, none of which has more than a third of the seats. The Herald predicts a ‘colourful coalition’ of Lib Dems, Greens and Independents. In Swindon, the Tories gained a seat from Labour and retained their majority. Wiltshire didn’t have an election this year.

• On the parish and town councils, the picture was much the same. In Newbury, the Lib Dems took 19 out of 23 seats, in Thatcham 15 out of 18 and in Wantage 14 out of 16. In West Berkshire, all the other parishes either had uncontested elections (where the number of candidates standing was less than or equal to the number of seats) or contested ones which were apolitical. With over 50 uncontested elections, it seems likely that most parishes have fewer councillors than they could have (each has a maximum number, depending on the population) and in some cases not enough to be quorate. It’s therefore likely that if you live in a rural area, in West Berkshire or the Vale, that your parish council could do with some extra help. Contact them directly if you can help fill the gap.

• All these elections seemed to pass off without any hitches apart from the one for Highworth Town Council – see the Swindon Area section below for more on this strange counting error.

• The Lib Dems claimed that they were the big victors on 2 May and, in number of seats won, it’s hard to argue. However, in terms of councils won, by far the biggest success was scored by a group which spans a wider political spectrum, which relies on partnership and co-operation to get things done and which now presides over more councils than any party save the Tories – No Overall Control. The implication is that in other cases, one party has Overall Control, a slightly menacing idea and one that is, fortunately, not true. Councils are severely constrained in how they can act and have less power than they did 40 years ago to introduce political policies. More than half of their expenditure goes on social care, not a political matter, and much else such as education, libraries and transport shouldn’t be either (though they sometimes are). NOC seems a good way of deciding what else happens without the groupthink that often attends councils with traditionally large majorities for any one party. Unfortunately, you can’t vote for No Overall Control – it just happens.

• If you are thinking of putting your name forward for co-option, or off standing for election next time round, you might want to have a look at this article from the BBC website. It considers, amongst other thing, why there are so few councillors who are young and why the number of female councillors (currently about a third) has not risen much over the last 15 years. The typical councillor, the article tells us, is a 59-year-old white male called John or David.

• Both the Newbury Weekly News and the Wantage & Grove Herald devote several pages to coverage of the district and parish elections in their areas.

• The election results in the Vale and South Oxfordshire sparked a particularly patronising editorial in the normally uncontroversial Wantage & Grove Herald. In so far as I can understand it, it seems to be saying that the results in these authorities are likely to be damaging because ‘far more experienced’ councillors than those who are set to replace them have been voted out as a result of ‘protest votes’. If you’re going to base qualification for office on length of service then nothing is ever going to change, regardless of in which political direction this change happens. 

• If anyone is any doubt as to what is the best sport in the world (yes, Americans, I’m talking to you as well), then this week’s European Cup (as I insist on still calling the Champions League) semi-finals should have dispelled that. Two 0-3 deficits turned into victories is quite something. If you do like football then you’ll know all about this: if you don’t, then nothing I say is going to make any difference. Drama of the highest order. I was at a party a couple of weeks ago and holding my corner (with a Spurs fan) about the merits of football as opposed to, say, Shakespeare. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the bard. He had a better grasp of narrative than Harry Kane and could turn a phrase better than I ever heard Stephen Gerard manage to do. However, our point was that, every time you see it, you know Othello’s going to kill Desdemona. With sport you can never tell. A bit like elections, perhaps.

• D0n’t believe what you read online (part 94): an online retailer sent out a message congratulating lucky winners that they’d won a trip to the Champions League final: unfortunately, due to a glitch, this seems to have been sent out to their entire mailing list. So if you got one of these yourself, you’re not going to Madrid on 1 June. I won’t mention the company’s name because they’ve had quite enough exposure (perhaps, by some perverse interpretation of marketing wisdom, this was a deliberate ploy) but I’ll only say that you’d get quite a lot of points for it in Scrabble.

• A reminder that if you own a cat or a dog and live near, or take your dog near, a river, particularly at this time of year, you might want to read this brief message on behalf of the local ducks and moorhens.

• The animal of the week is any male stickleback with their magic glue-producing kidneys. If you want to know what I’m talking about, have a look at the Marlborough Area section below.

• The letters pages of the Newbury Weekly News this week include several reflections on the recent elections; criticism of West Berkshire Council for the way it handled the recent closure in Mill Lane; two points of view about the London Road Industrial Estate; some thoughts from a retired civil engineer about the plans for a bridge at Thatcham; and a diatribe against corruption.

• A number of good causes have received valuable support recently, including: Charlton Acorns preschool (thanks to the Big Wantage Easter Treasure Hunt); Newbury Cancer Care (thanks to the friends and family of Kim Jones); Speakability (thanks to Jennie Rushford and Hannah Warner); the Alexander Devine Hospice (thanks to pupils at Bradfield College); Daisy’s Dream (thanks to pupils at Curridge Primary School).