Tories beat Reform UK in council by-election win

3 days ago

Dan MartinLeicester political reporter

News image — Conservative James Poland (centre) finished 385 votes ahead of the second-placed Reform UK candidate

BBC A line of Tories punching the air — Conservative James Poland (centre) finished 385 votes ahead of the second-placed Reform UK candidate

The Conservatives have won a Charnwood Borough Council by-election.

Tory candidate James Poland was elected as the new councillor for the authority's Wreake Valley ward on Thursday, holding off a challenge from Reform UK's Michael Slade, who finished second.

The seat was previously held by the Green Party, whose candidate Hamzah Sheikh was pushed into third place.

Poland said he was deeply honoured to have been elected, adding that he had won by campaigning on local rather than national issues.

He told the BBC voters in the ward, which includes part of Syston, East Goscote, Queniborough and Cossington, were concerned about government proposals to expand Leicester's political boundary under a process called local government reorganisation (LGR).

"The government may have paused LGR last week, but people in the villages know it has not gone away, and they know I will come in and argue the case effectively against the expansion of the city," Poland added.

A smiling James Poland wears a blue rosette — Poland is now part of a 23-strong Conservative group on the council

Poland also said he would voice residents' concerns about flooding and overdevelopment on the council.

"Reform's campaign was national in its scope and all about national issues," he added.

"I talked about those local issues which, as a Charnwood borough councillor, I can have some influence on."

Reform's Slade said he believed the party would succeed in the next set of borough council elections in May.

Five signs with candidate names — Labour candidate Jamie Dyas and Liberal Democrat Murray Sinclair received fewer than 100 votes between them

No party currently has overall political control of the borough council.

It is currently run by Labour, which holds 20 of the council's 52 seats, following a deal with the Green Party, which has seven councillors.

The Conservatives are the largest single party and now hold 23 seats, while there are two independent councillors.

A line of candidates watching votes being counted — Turnout for the election was 26.28%

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Laurie Needham, the former Green Party group leader on the authority, due to ongoing health issues.