Tories win key district council by-election
Neil O'BrienThe Conservatives have won a key by-election to Harborough District Council.
Tory candidate David Page got 461 votes in a poll in the Logan ward, in Market Harborough, on Thursday, taking the seat which had previously been held by an independent councillor.
The Green Party came second with 358 votes and the Lib Dems finished third with 268.
No party currently has overall political control of the tightly-balanced council.
However, Thursday's result now means the Tories have 16 seats on the authority.
That matches the 16-strong coalition that currently forms an administration, which is made up of nine Liberal Democrat councillors, three Labour members, three Greens, and an independent.
The Tories remain the largest party on the district council but still do not have enough councillors to take control of the authority without doing a deal with a political rival.
Reform UK won its first seat on Harborough District Council last month in a by-election in the Fleckney ward.
Full results
- David Page, Conservative - 461
- Jake Bolton, Green Party - 358
- Marion Lewis, Liberal Democrats - 268
- Barry Walton, Reform -195
- Deborah Bennett, Labour - 42
- Robin Lambert, Social Democratic Party - 4
The turnout in the election was 30.5%.
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