Former councillor Karen Barber has been selected by the Conservatives to contest the Arley and Whitacre seat left vacant following the resignation of Cllr Andrew Watkins. Karen served on Ansley Parish Council for seven years and was the Borough councillor for Arley and Whitacre between 2011 and 2015. Karen has a history of standing up for local residents across our community; she has been involved in securing funding for a number of organisation, including assisting a residents group in Ansley Common. She has also previously been involved with the Ley Group Project based in Arley; a service involved with providing and improving youth and family services and support across the ward, and has worked as a voluntary youth worker in Ansley. However, as a teacher she believes that education is key, therefore she has been involved in Governor services, as a school Governor and as Chair of Governors for a number of years helping schools to improve at both Primary and Secondary level. Karen currently works in a Pupil Referral Unit teaching GCSE English Literature, Language and Media Studies.
Karen said: “I am delighted to have been selected as the Conservative candidate in the upcoming by-election in Arleyand Whitacre. As the former councillor for this ward, I am familiar with the issues that we face and am committed to making sure we get the best deal for our community.”
David Humphreys, leader of North Warwickshire Borough Council said: “We are thrilled that Karen has chosen to stand in Arley and Whitacre; she has a long history of standing up for all local residents and has a hands on approach to tackling the issues that matter. We have already seen that Labour fail to listen to what local residents want – a prime example of this is over the issue of Arley Sports Centre. We launched a public consultation and the responses overwhelmingly showed that residents and users of the centre wanted the facility to be included in a Borough wide leisure review. There was also widespread support for the centre to open at peak time only – a solution that the Conservative group supported whilst Labour abstained from voting altogether. This proves that the Conservatives are the only Party that will stand up for the community. Residents have a clear choice at this election; a Conservative councillor who will listen to your concerns and stand up for your community, or another Labour councillor who will be more concerned with toeing the party line than making sure your voice is heard.”
