Labour retain control of City of York Council

Labour has retained control of City of York Council, with an overall majority of one seat, after winning the Heworth ward by-election.

The result - confirmed at about 00:30 GMT on Friday - saw Labour candidate Anna Perrett take the seat with 1,096 votes - 495 votes ahead of Reform UK's John Crispin-Bailey.

The Green Party's Ben Ffrench tallied 591 votes and beat Liberal Democrat Ian Eiloart, who polled 528, to third. Conservative Emma Dolben was fifth on 118, with Independent Emma Hardy in last place on 49 votes.

Perrett, who has represented Heworth in the past, said: "I'm so grateful to be supported. To do it once was a privilege, to do it twice I'm absolutely humbled."

Turnout was 31.6%.

Labour's win comes just days before the first of a number of crucial meetings, which will see the council debate next year's budget and council tax charges.

Perrett said the campaign was strongly based around local issues, such as the cost of living, road safety and the condition of parks and green spaces.

The "hard work" that had been put into the Heworth ward by Labour councillors over several years had been recognised by voters, Perrett said.

She added: "We work hard for residents, day in, day out, every day of the year. People know we're listening and are acting on their concerns.

"It was a slender majority but that hard work really made a difference. National things do feed into by-elections, they can be a referendum on what's going on, but you can see today - talking about local issues has got us the result we wanted and worked so hard for."

Labour leader Claire Douglas said the result was a vote of confidence in her party's administration.

She added: "I'm really happy, the result has bucked the national trend and I've enjoyed speaking to the people of Heworth and I was confident that they would recognise our hard work."

Analysis by Richard Edwards, BBC North Yorkshire's political reporter

Labour has retained control of City of York Council it fought so hard for - and won so narrowly - in 2023.

The party won comfortably in yesterday's Heworth by-election, beating Reform UK by just under 500 votes.

Labour had the advantage - it was defending the seat, it has the ward's two other seats, and its new councillor, Anna Perrett, has represented Heworth in the past.

So if Labour got its local vote out, despite the party's national unpopularity, it was in a strong position to win.

And win it did. But Reform UK - on their first outing in Heworth - will be pleased with a strong second place, pushing the Greens into third by 10 votes.

The city council's Labour leader, Claire Douglas, also a Heworth councillor, says she and her group are getting on with the job. Big meetings, to decide next year's budget and council tax, are just around the corner.

When Labour took control of York, it made major pledges, such as free school meals in 10 primary schools and a big social house building programme on council-owned land.

If there are no further by-elections, York's voters next go to the polls in an "all out" council election in May 2027.

That is when the party in York will be truly tested against progress made on those 2023 election pledges. It is going to be a busy 16 months for Councillor Perrett and her colleagues.

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