Labour take back seat from Greens in Sheffield City Council Walkley by-election
In May - Green candidate Andy Davies unseated council leader Tom Hunt... however Labour has now recaptured the seat
Labour have taken back a Sheffield City Council seat in Walkley from the Greens in a by-election they won comfortably.
Unlike on May 7, when Green candidate Andy Davies unseated council leader Tom Hunt by just 73 votes on a punishing night for Labour, the result last night (September 17) wasn’t close.
Labour candidate Hannah Cawley beat Green Seb Van Bilsen Irias by a margin of 1,066 votes. Reform UK came third with 541 votes.
The by-election was called after Mr Davies resigned in August because he had concerns over his mental health. Green leader Councillor Angela Argenzio admitted that his decision had some effect on voters’ confidence in choosing the party again.
The ward now returns to being all Labour.
Council leader Coun Fran Belbin said: “I’m really, really pleased for Hannah.
“She’s an absolutely fantastic candidate, and we won this by-election really convincingly after losing by such a small margin in May. I’m really pleased that we’ve got such a fantastic result here today.”
Asked what factors influenced voting, she replied: “First and foremost, Hannah is an absolutely fantastic candidate. I think everybody who met her on the doorstep could see that.
“Really experienced, lived in the area for 30 years, really knows what she’s doing. That came across.
“I think as well, people have seen that both locally and nationally, Labour are delivering.
“In just the last few weeks, we’ve managed to deliver some of our manifesto on free bus fares for young people up to 18 and putting solar panels on schools.
“And nationally, of course, we are seeing that bounce as well with some really successful policies and popular policies.”
Coun Argenzio said: “I think Seb is an amazing candidate and he will be an incredible councillor eventually.
“The circumstances by which the by-election came about were always going to play against us and we found that on the ward. So we’ll just rally and carry on.
“Congratulations to Hannah for her campaign and for her commitment.”
Full result:
Hannah Cawley, Labour and Co-operative Party, 2315
Isabelle Amy France, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, 56
Alex Purvis, Liberal Democrats, 112
Andrew John Telford, Reform UK, 541
Sonny Ullah, Conservative Party, 59
Seb Van Bilsen Irias, Green Party, 1249
Turnout: 28.18 per cent.