Businessman Jeff Wilton-Love, director of domiciliary care and support provider Chapter Care [North Devon] Ltd, has been elected a Devon County Councillor for the constituency of Bideford West and Hartland in the May 2021 local elections.
Local Councillors are elected by the community to decide how the council should carry out its various activities. They represent public interest as well as individuals living within the ward in which they are elected to serve a term of office.
Councillors engage in regular contact with the public through council meetings, telephone calls or surgeries. Surgeries provide an opportunity for any ward resident to go and talk their councillor face to face and these take place on a regular basis.
Jeff [pictured, right], a Conservative, secured his new position after winning 1,003 votes, double that of his nearest rivals.
But just who is the man who has been elected to represent Bideford West & Hartland and what is his mission?
Originally from Isleworth, London, Jeff is a businessman and prominent figure in the social care sector.
He has established himself as a key voice in the Bideford West & Hartland area and been heavily involved with structural management across the whole of Devon Country within his work. Indeed, after being elected, Jeff wasted no time in earmarking road maintenance in the area as one of his immediate priorities.
Outside of social care, Jeff is no stranger to happenings within the world of business. After spending a period of time in the Armed Forces with the 33rd Engineer Regiment, Jeff made a career out of supplying drivers to the road and air freight industry at London’s Heathrow Airport which helped him acquire much of the knowledge of infrastructure he possesses today.
Having relocated to Devon in 2008, Jeff’s stride into social care followed in 2017. He has run Chapter Care since then, in partnership with his wife, Helen, and the endeavour has proven a successful one. In 2019, Chapter Care was named ‘Best Domiciliary Care Provider’ at the Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Awards, before more success came the following year with an accolade at the Innovations and Excellence Awards.
Over the previous four years, he has quickly become accustomed to and been notably vocal about the many issues blighting the care industry in the UK. It is these matters which are a key driver behind his campaign for change, and he is determined in his new position to help the social care sector.
Before being elected as a councillor, Jeff had written several economic papers, and in early 2020 was a staunch critic of the Conservative government’s Budget and its lack of acknowledgement of the social care sector.
And most importantly of all, Jeff has made clear that his representation of the people of Bideford West & Hartland and his push for change will be for the benefit of all.
Upon being elected, Jeff said: “I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me. I promise you I will work hard over these next four years.
“For those who did not vote for me, I hope I can show you that I will be here, and the candidate you deserve.”
We at The Leaders Council congratulate Jeff on a successful election campaign and wish him the very best of luck in delivering on the people’s priorities in Bideford West & Hartland.
