Labour has held onto its majority on City of York Council.
The party’s candidate, Anna Perrett, enjoyed a comfortable victory in the Heworth by-election.
Reform UK’s candidate was runner-up, ahead of the Lib Dems, Greens and Conservatives.
The results were declared this morning at about 12.40am after a count at The Centre @ Burnholme. Here they are in full:
| Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| John Crispin Bailey | Reform UK | 601 |
| Emma Dolben | Conservative | 118 |
| Ian Eiloart | Lib Dems | 528 |
| Ben Ffrench | Green | 591 |
| Emma Hardy | Independent | 49 |
| Anna Perrett | Labour | 1,096 |
It means no change in the political make-up of York council, with Labour retaining its overall majority of one.
Cllr Perrett, who served as councillor for Heworth from 2019 to 2023, is elected to the ward again.
Turnout was 31.6 per cent. It was 31.7 per cent in the 2023 all-out elections.
The by-election was called in December after incumbent Labour councillor Ben Burton announced he was standing down, as he was moving out of the city.
Speaking to LDRS after the results were declared, Ms Perrett said she was humbled by the result.
She added the cost of living had been one of the main themes on the doorstep.
The newly-elected councillor said: “By-elections are always a bit of a referendum but the scale of our result compared to the other parties shows a team who back residents’ concerns are going to win, rather than people who just turn up for the election.”
Labour leader Cllr Douglas said the result was a vote of confidence in her party’s administration.
The leader said: “I’m really happy, the result’s 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.”
