Devizes Guardians

The Devizes Guardians are a local independent political party based in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The party was formed in 2001 and has been successful in winning seats on Kennet District Council and Wiltshire Council.

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.

The Devizes Guardians were formed in 2001,^[1] in the aftermath of the felling of five London plane trees in the Devizes Market Place,^[2][3] and on 19 June 2002 the new party was registered with the Electoral Commission under the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998.^[4] On 18 July 2002 the Devizes Guardians contested and won a Kennet District Council 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."^[2]

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 (Devizes North), Jeffrey Ody (Devizes South), and Tony Duck (Devizes East).^[5] Carter commented to a Wiltshire newspaper "We have to acknowledge there is an element of protest vote 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."^[3]

At the May 2005 county council elections, the party contested two divisions of Wiltshire County Council, 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)^[6] and also three on Devizes Town Council, to which Jane Burton, Ted East, and Peter Smith were elected.^[7] 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.^[8]

On 1 April 2009, the District of Kennet was abolished as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, and the Devizes Guardians contested four seats in the first elections to the new Wiltshire Council unitary authority held on 4 June 2009. Its three successful candidates were Ody (Devizes and Roundway South), Carter (Devizes North), and Jane Burton (Devizes East).^{[9][10][11][12]}

At an annual general meeting held on 27 October 2009, the party celebrated its successes and stressed the importance of a new public consultation on planning policy for Wiltshire.^[7]

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,^[4] and it has been called the "local conservation party".^[13]

The party's registered officers are as follows:^[14]

• Leader: J. Hunter
• Nominating Officer: A. Geddes
• Treasurer: P. Tweedle

At the Wiltshire Council elections of 4 June 2009, the party contested four divisions and won three.^[10]

• Kennet local elections
• 2009 Wiltshire Council election
• 2013 Wiltshire Council election

• Official website
• Your Town Councillors at devizes-tc.gov.uk