LABOR campaigners celebrate after the party won a Conservative council seat in a by-election.
Labor’s Robert Mcintosh won the Rottingdean Coastal by-election, beating Conservative candidate Lynda Hyde and Independent candidate Stephen White with an 88-vote majority.
The Tories were pushed into third place by Mr White, with Ms Hyde trailing Mr Mcintosh by more than 250 votes.
Here comes the time #Work were declared the winners of the #Rottingdean Coastal by-election, with the Conservatives pushed into third place by independent candidate Stephen White #LocalElections2022 pic.twitter.com/NxzQ9r1ikw
— Daniel Green (@DanGreenJourno) May 6, 2022
The by-election was called following the sudden resignation of former Conservative councilor Joe Miller in March this year.
Mr Mcintosh said housing issues, rubbish collections, the cost of living and concerns over ‘Partygate’ all played a role in the success of Labour’s campaign.
He said: “The Conservative voter you get on the east end of the ward is more liberal. [Prime Minister ]Johnson fails on several counts for them.”
However, he also said his team believed the result would be a landslide.
“It wasn’t, but it was a good number, and I’m very happy about that,” he said.
Union co-leader Carmen Appich (left), Robert Mcintosh (centre) and Lloyd Russell-Moyle
Brighton Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle said: “I think it bodes very well for the local elections next year. This is the first time we have won Rottingdean Coastal and I think it shows that Brighton and Hove residents reject conservatism, sleaze and deceit.
“The people of Rottingdean have wanted a fresh start with Robert and I expect the people of this town will be looking to see the Tories back.”
Mr White said the result showed ‘the real strength of sentiment against the development of Gas Works’ and that people reject the main political parties.
He said: “The big main party beat me by about 80 votes – that’s not a ringing endorsement.”
When asked if he would run again, Mr White said he was not sure.
“It’s a bit too early to tell,” he said.
Ms Hyde said residents who chose to vote for Mr White were to blame for the Tory defeat.
She said: “The independent has made a big difference and that’s really it.”
The votes were counted at Hove Town Hall
Full results of the Rottingdean Coastal by-election
- Robert Mcintosh, Labor – 1443
- Stephen White, independent – 1355
- Lynda Hyde, curator – 1185
- Libby darling, green – 504
- Alison Wright, independent – 222
- Stewart Stone, Liberal Democrats – 168
The result puts Labor on 16 councilors on Brighton and Hove City Council, with the Greens holding 20 seats and the Conservatives 12. There are also six independent councillors.
Turnout in the ward was 44%, down just 1.6% from the last election in 2019 – which took place at the same time as citywide elections.
Elections were also held in four Sussex councils; Adur, Crawley, Hastings and Worthing.
The tally of those councils will begin later today, with the results due to be announced this afternoon.
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Source: www.theargus.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-05-06 01:46:45
