Conservatives win Hove by-election

Graham Cox has won the Westbourne by-election for the Conservatives.

The former Hove police commander won a seat on Brighton and Hove City Council today with 1,027 votes, a majority of 201.

Nigel Jenner was the runner-up for Labour with 826 votes. Susan Greenbaum for the Greens came third with 645 votes.

Gareth Davies for the Liberal Democrats picked up 45 votes, Paul Perrin for the UK Independence Party received 36 votes, Pip Tindall for the Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts received 20 votes and Susan Collard for the European Citizens Party polled 13 votes.

There were 631 postal votes. Six ballot papers were spoilt. The turnout was 36 per cent.

Mr Cox said: “We’re very pleased with the result. I’d like to thank all the voters in Westbourne – not least for putting up with all the knocking on their doors and phone calls from canvassers just before Christmas.

“I look forward to serving the people of Westbourne as a councillor and speaking up for them in the council chamber.”

Geoffrey Theobald, leader of the opposition Conservative group, said that he was delighted that Mr Cox would be joining Councillor Denise Cobb, a fellow Tory and the other ward councillor for Westbourne.

Councillor Theobald: “The turnout was much higher than recent by-elections elsewhere.

“This is a good sign of the interest among voters and the effort of all the parties. The Greens and the Labour Party called in all sorts of people from outside the area.

“Both of the other parties were pounding the streets and despite this we increased our majority.

“The residents have shown what they think of the other two parties and have backed both the Conservative Party locally and the Conservative government nationally.”

Mr Cox said that the Greens had portrayed this as a referendum on the council tax rise and he hoped that they would now think again.

He said that several voters had told him that they voted Green in May at the local elections and now regretted it.

The Tories put out a leaflet in parts of the ward yesterday (Wednesday 21 December) saying that the only way to stop the Greens was to vote Conservative. This was a twist on a tactic used by the Greens in previous local by-elections when they have told voters that the only way to stop the Tories was to vote Green.

The by-election was held after former Conservative council leader Brian Oxley stood down to move to Derby tobe near his elderly father.