Reform UK win West Northamptonshire Council seat in Hackleton and Roade
A by-election was called after the previous incumbent resigned
Reform UK has won the only seat up for grabs on West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) after voters went to the polls in the Hackleton and Roade ward.
The by-election was called after the former Reform UK councillor Adam Smith resigned from his post in March this year.
He won the seat for the first time in May, at the same time that Reform won majority control of the authority, but later sat as an independent member.
On Thursday 7 May, voters in the Hackleton and Roade ward went to the polls to elect a new councillor to take up the vacant position and serve the remainder of the term.
Reform’s Laura Christine Weston won the by-election with 1,355 votes and took 30 per cent of the vote share.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, she said:
“It’s been amazing, the support I’ve had, the campaign I’ve had, everybody has worked tirelessly.
"It’s been really refreshing for me to be on the doorsteps talking to people and realising there’s obviously a lot of people who want to support us.
“I’ve grown up in a rural community, so it’s really important to make sure those rural voices are heard in the bigger picture of West Northants."
Turnout for the by-election was 50.4 percent.
The Conservative Party came second, the Liberal Democrats were third, and the Greens placed fourth.
Cllr Weston will now join Conservative councillor Fiona Cole in representing Hackleton and Roade on the unitary authority.
The result does not change who is in control of West Northamptonshire Council as Reform already has enough seats for a majority.
There are now 40 Reform UK councillors, 17 Conservatives, eight Labour, seven Lib Dems, and four independent councillors on West Northamptonshire Council.