The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
TORIES WIN COUNCIL SEAT
The Conservatives have strengthened their hold in Peterborough City Council after winning a by-election in West Ward. The party’s candidate Lynne Ayres won the seat last Thursday after receiving 1,174 of the 2,532 votes cast.
The victory means the Conservatives are now just two short of a majority in the 57-seat council which they currently run.
It also means that all three councillors in West Ward are Conservatives.
The by-election was called following the resignation of Conservative councillor Nick Arculus in April.
Mr Arculus, a solicitor for Hunts & Coombs, left his role as a city councillor to work 8,000 miles away in the Falkland Islands.
The other councillors in West Ward are Conservatives Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald and Cllr Yasmeen Maqbool.
Ms Ayres, a former senior and managing partner at Hunt & Coombs, defeated Labour’s Mohammed Sabir, UKIP’s John Myles, the Green Party’s Alex Airey and Liberal Democrat Malcolm Pollock.
Following her election win she said she would do everything for the people in her ward, adding: “I’m delighted, thrilled to bits. Very privileged to have been voted in by so many people with such a ma- jority, that’s just wonderful.
“I was born in Peterborough, I’ve lived, been brought up, educated, worked - everything in West Ward. It’s my ward and my city and this is where I belong.
“I’ve always believed in the Conservatives because I believe in the principles - I thoroughly believe in the principle of working families and working hard and doing well as a result.
“My family have always done business in the town for many generations and I have myself. And I think it’s important we work hard and look after each other.”
The turnout at the by-election was 36 per cent.
Peterborough City Council remains in no overall control. The council now consists of 27 Conservative councillors, 12 from Labour, four Liberal Democrats, four from UKIP and three Liberals.
In addition, three councillors are members of the Werrington First group, three are members of the Peterborough Independent Forum, and Cllr John Knowles is an independent member.