Redlands Ward
About the Ward
Redlands is an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It is situated to the south-east of the town centre, and is bordered by Abbey, Park, Church and Katesgrove wards.
As with all wards, apart from smaller Mapledurham, it elects three councillors to Reading Borough Council. Elections since 2004 are held by thirds, with elections in three years out of four.
Since 2010 a Labour Party or Labour and Co-operative Party candidate has won every election.
These Councillors are currently, in order of election: Jan Gavin (Lab), Tony Jones (Lab and Coop) and David Absolom (Lab).
Meet the Councillors
David Absolom
Tony Jones
Tony was first elected Reading Borough Council in 1984 and represents Redlands ward for the Labour and Co-operative Parties. As one of the council’s most experienced councillors Tony has held a wide range of positions and is currently Lead Member for Education.
Tony has been Mayor of Reading on two occasions, in 2001/2 and 2014/15. As Chair of Housing in the 1990s Tony led the nationally acclaimed “Empty Homes Strategy” which brought back over 500 disused homes back in to use in Reading, and between 2005 and 2008 was Chairman of Reading Buses overseeing the introduction of the popular colour-coded bus routes.