They break ties in Ockendon

The latest updates on local electoral information are as follows.

Results

• Aylesbury Vale: The byelection in Central and Walton ward on 22 March was won by Waheed Raja. Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative.
• Bassetlaw: The byelection in Worksop South East ward on 22 March was won by Clayton Tindle. Labour hold.
• Cheshire East: The byelection in Bunbury ward on 22 March was won by Chris Green. The Conservatives regain a seat lost when the outgoing councillor resigned the party whip.
• Chiltern: The byelection in Ridgeway ward on 22 March was won by Nick Southworth. Conservative gain of a seat previously held by an Independent councillor.
• City of London Corporation: The byelection for a Common Councilman in Billingsgate ward on 22 March was won by John Allen-Petrie.
• City of London Corporation: The byelection for a Common Councilman in Bishopsgate ward on 20 March was won by Shravan Joshi.
• Midlothian: The byelection in Penicuik ward on 22 March was won by Joe Wallace. Scottish National Party gain from Labour. The result may mean the Scottish National Party taking over the council administration.
• Staffordshire Moorlands: The byelection in Leek West ward on 22 March was won by Bill Cawley. Labour gain from Conservative.
• Thurrock: The byelection in Ockendon ward on 22 March ended, after two recounts, with two candidates tied. As laid down in law, a name randomly drawn from a ballot box determined who received the Returning Officer’s casting vote, and was won by Andrew Jeffries. Conservative gain from UK Independence Party.

Changes of allegiance

• Ashfield: Chris Baron (Hucknall West ward) and Lee Anderson (Huthwaite and Brierley ward), who were elected for the Labour Party, have joined the Conservative Party. Meanwhile Steve Carroll (Sutton Junction and Harlow Wood ward) has left the Labour Party to sit as an Independent councillor.
• Blaenau Gwent: Gareth Davies, who was elected for Plaid Cymru in Cwm division, has left the party to sit as an Independent councillor in protest at the treatment of Neil McEvoy (see below).
• Cardiff: Neil McEvoy AM, who was elected for Plaid Cymru in Fairwater division, has been expelled from the party (he had previously been removed from the Assembly group, but remained leader of the Plaid Cymru group on the council). He is now sitting as a ‘Fairwater Cardiff West’ councillor.
• Three Rivers: Martin Brooks, who was elected for the Liberal Democrats in Leavesden ward, has left the party to sit as an Independent councillor. He was facing deselection and has decided to stand for re-election as an Independent candidate. As a result of his move, the Liberal Democrats no longer have an overall majority on the council.

New vacancies

• Braintree: Bocking North ward, after the resignation of Conservative councillor Stephanie Paul. Term ends 2019.
• Cheltenham: Leckhampton ward, after the resignation of Independent councillor Ian Bickerton. Term ends 2020.
• Epping Forest: Buckhurst Hill West ward, after the resignation of Independent councillor Sylvia Watson. As her term was due to end in May, there will be no byelection.
• Epping Forest: Loughton Broadway ward, after the resignation of Loughton Residents’ Association councillor Leon Girling. Term ends 2020.
• Epping Forest: Moreton and Fyfield ward, after the resignation of Conservative councillor Tony Boyce. Term ends 2019.
• Epping Forest: Waltham Abbey Honey Lane ward, after the resignation of Conservative councillor Glynis Shiell. Term ends 2020.
• Gateshead: Ryton, Crookhill and Stella ward, after the resignation of Labour councillor Liz Twist, now Member of Parliament for Blaydon. Term ends 2020.
• Lancaster: University and Scotforth Rural ward, a double vacancy after the resignations of Labour councillors Lucy Atkinson and Sam Armstrong (who was originally elected for the Green Party). Both terms end in 2019.
• Liverpool: Knotty Ash ward, after the resignation of Labour councillor Jacqui Taylor. Term ends 2019.
• Manchester: City Centre ward, after the resignation of Labour councillor Beth Knowles. As her term would have ended in May, she will not be replaced in a byelection.
• Oldham: Chadderton Central ward, after the death of Labour councillor Susan Dearden. Term ends 2020.
• Preston: Greyfriars ward, after the resignation of Conservative councillor Damien Moore, now Member of Parliament for Southport. Term ends 2020 (although likely to be brought forward to 2019 due to ward boundary changes).
• Runnymede: Chertsey South and Row Town ward, a double vacancy after the resignations of Conservative councillors Barry Pitt and Terry Dicks. Pitt’s term was due to end in May so there will be no byelection. Dicks’s term ends in 2019.
• Runnymede: Foxhills ward, after the resignation of Conservative councillor Dannielle Khalique. Term ends 2019.
• Sefton: Ford ward, after the resignation of Labour councillor Kevin Cluskey. Term ends 2019.
• Swale: Sheppey East ward, after the resignation of Conservative councillor Lesley Ingham. Term ends 2019.
• Wirral: Hoylake and Meols ward, after the resignation of Conservative councillor John Hale. Term ends 2020.

Dates for byelections

• Aylesbury Vale: The byelection due in Quainton ward will be held on 3 May.
• Braintree: The byelection due in Bocking North ward will be held on 3 May.
• Braintree: The byelection due in Hatfield Peverel and Terling ward will be held on 3 May.
• Epping Forest: There will be a double vacancy election in Loughton Broadway ward at the local elections on 3 May.
• Epping Forest: There will be a double vacancy election in Waltham Abbey Honey Lane ward at the local elections on 3 May.
• Epping Forest: The byelection due in Moreton and Fyfield ward will be held on 3 May.
• Gateshead: There will be a double vacancy election in Ryton, Crookhill and Stella ward at the local elections on 3 May.
• Liverpool: There will be a double vacancy election in Knotty Ash ward at the local elections on 3 May.
• Oldham: There will be a double vacancy election in Chadderton Central ward at the local elections on 3 May.
• Preston: There will be a double vacancy election in Greyfriars ward at the local elections on 3 May.
• Rushmoor: There will be a double vacancy election in West Heath ward at the local elections on 3 May.
• St Edmundsbury: The byelection due in Haverhill East ward will be held on 3 May.
• St Edmundsbury: The byelection due in Haverhill North ward will be held on 3 May.
• Sefton: There will be a double vacancy election in Ford ward at the local elections on 3 May.
• Torridge: Notice was erroneously given that the byelection due in Bideford East ward would be held on 12 April. This byelection has not yet been called.
• Wirral: There will be a double vacancy election in Hoylake and Meols ward at the local elections on 3 May.
• Worcester: There will be a double vacancy election in Warndon ward at the local elections on 3 May.

Other updates

• East Dunabartonshire: After three months without a leadership, the council has finally elected new Convenors. It will be run by a coalition between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.
• West Somerset: The Secretary of State has announced that he has approved the merger between West Somerset district council and Taunton Deane borough council, which will be implemented in April 2019.

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