Three principal council by-election were held yesterday. In Cambridgeshire (CC), the Conservatives comfortably held their seat in Bar Hill ward, polling 46% of the vote to finish 536 votes ahead of the UKIP candidate. Fiona Whelan finished a close third with 13.9%, an improvement on the party’s vote share in the ward’s previous election in 2013 of 5.4%.
The contest in Oswestry East ward in Shropshire (UA) once again saw the Conservatives secure an easy hold, with their candidate finish 411 votes ahead of second place Labour with 47.5% of the vote. Lib Dem candidate Amanda Woof registered 16.5% to finish fourth, with the party not fielding a candidate in the ward’s 2013 election.
Elsewhere, Labour made their first principal-council gain of 2015 by taking a seat from UKIP in Mark Hall ward in Harlow (BC). The Lib Dem’s vote share dropped by 4.4% in polling 3.4% to finish fifth in a ward where we had previously held all three seats.