THE Liberal Democrats have held the seat on South Gloucestershire Council vacated by Thornbury & Yate MP Claire Young.
At a by-election held yesterday David Goodwin won the Frampton Cotterell ward with a majority of 201 over Conservative Tim Niblett, with the Greens and Labour third and fourth respectively.
Ms Young stood down as a councillor to concentrate on her work in Westminster in October, after 17 years on the council, triggering the by-election.
The Lib Dems picked up 49.5% of the votes cast, down slightly on the 55% they received when all three seats were contested in last year’s local elections.
The Tory share was up slightly from 38% to 41.7%, with the Greens on 6% and Labour on 3%.
Cllr Goodwin said: “I am delighted and humbled to have been elected to serve the people of Frampton Cotterell ward alongside my fellow Lib Dem councillors Jon Lean and Tristan Clark.
“The Liberal Democrats have been working hard in this area for decades and I am excited to be able to continue this service.
“I want to stand up for local residents and fight for the issues that really matter to them.
“Thank you to everyone in Frampton Cotterell ward who came out on a cold November day to vote in this election whether you voted for me or not.
“My colleagues and I will stand up for you and fight your corner on the council.
“I will be tackling the various issues that residents have raised with me over the course of the campaign and keeping my election pledges to fight against bus cuts, fight against cuts to the winter fuel allowance and fight against sewage dumping in our rivers.”
Lib Dem group leader and South Gloucestershire Council leader Maggie Tyrrell said: “I’m very pleased to welcome David as the latest member of the Lib Dem Group on the council.
“I know from his work on Frampton Cotterell Parish Council that he has the passion and drive to make a real difference.
“I’m especially pleased that the people of Frampton Cotterell ward have chosen to back David’s positive campaign rather than reward the Tories’ negative, attacking approach.
“This victory is a clear indicator that the current Lib Dem led administration, despite having to make difficult financial decisions due to years of government underfunding, is on the right track.”
Ms Young said: “I congratulate Cllr David Goodwin on his election. I know he is committed to standing up for local people and I look forward to working with him to do that in the coming years.”
Conservatives welcome increased vote share
The Tories said they were “the big winners” in the by-election and described the fall in the Lib Dems’ share of the vote as a “collapse”.
Conservative group leader Sam Bromiley said: “Last night’s result is remarkable. Every other Party went backwards as local residents got behind local Conservative candidate Tim Niblett’s positive message to stop car parking charges. And to stop the reduction in black bin collections.
“We will stay on the side of residents and I just hope South Gloucestershire Council pay attention to this result and start listening to local people.”
Result:
David Goodwin (Liberal Democrat) 1,315
Tim Niblett (Conservative) 1,114
Alan Lankester (Green) 160
Jonathan Trollope (Labour) 80
Turnout: 25.5%