More Conservative gains in Mansfield as MP is elected as councillor
THE Conservative Party has made more gains in Mansfield after picking up six of the nine available seats on Nottinghamshire County Council.
The party saw a 26.9 percent swing in its favour on Thursday, making gains in all parts of the district as it picked up almost 40 percent of the vote.
It’s the fourth time since 2017 that the party has increased its presence in the traditional “red wall” district, after Ben Bradley’s two successful parliamentary elections and the two councillors won in 2019.
This comes alongside a wider picture which saw the Tories pick up an overall majority on the county council and a countywide swing of 4.3 percent.
Notable local gains came in Warsop, where former Labour councillor Andy Wetton was unseated by Bethan Eddy, and in Mansfield East where Tory candidates Robert Corden and Nigel Moxon picked up the two available seats.
Ben Bradley also picked up a victory in Mansfield North, alongside a victory for Labour candidate Anne Callaghan in the same ward.
Sinead Anderson, Conservative district councillor for Eakring and wife of Ashfield MP Lee Anderson, secured a win in Mansfield West, alongside Labour candidate Paul Henshaw.
Prominent independent councillor Steve Garner retained his Mansfield South seat, while Tory candidate Andre Camilleri won in the same ward.
Speaking on the party’s gains in Mansfield and across the county, Mr Bradley said: “It has been really positive, we’ve gone from no councillors at all in Mansfield to six out of the nine county councillors.
“Winning places like Warsop for example is a huge shift in the political landscape in Mansfield.
“It seems that the dominance of the independents [in Mansfield] in particular has gone, so it’s really positive for us with six great new councillors working hard for residents.”