 'Monkey' mayor Stuart Drummond wins landslide victory |
The man voted mayor of Hartlepool while dressed in a monkey suit, has celebrated re-election by proposing to his girlfriend - who accepted. Stuart Drummond, who became mayor in 2002 posing as Hartlepool United mascot H'angus the mascot, popped the question to Beccy Buttery after the count.
The independent candidate fought off six rivals with 16,912 votes.
This was more than 10,000 votes ahead of nearest rival, Labour's Carl Richardson who polled 6,707.
The other independent candidates lagged well behind with Ian Cameron, receiving 4,272, Steven Allison 3,765, Stan Kaiser 2,701 and John Lauderdale 1,821.
The Conservatives could only manage last place, with Brenda Pearson receiving 1,482 votes. The turnout was 51%.
Mr Drummond said he had been given an overwhelming mandate by the people of Hartlepool and would begin selecting his cabinet on Monday.
When he was first elected in 2002, while the football team mascot, he received 7,400 votes with a 52% share of the vote and a turnout of 30%.
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