Cllr Keith Dibble has been fighting the good fight on Rushmoor Council since 1984, often with only a handful of Labour colleagues on a council controlled by the Conservatives for all but 5 of the last 40 years.  Things are starting to change, however, following a strong set of local elections which saw Labour gain 5 seats from the Conservatives bringing their total to 14, the largest the Labour group has ever been, and just 9 behind the Conservatives.

The Lib Dems, who have traditionally been the main opposition party to the Conservatives in Rushmoor, are languishing behind on 2 Councillors, having never recovered from the Cameron-Clegg years, and another strong year for Labour next year would see them in prime position to lead an administration for the first time.

We sat down with Keith to understand more about what Labour did differently this year and how they managed to solidify themselves as the main opposition party preparing for administration next year: