LIBERAL Democrat Dave Patrick last night stunned the Conservatives by winning the vacant seats on Fenland District and Wisbech Town Councils. He narrowly lost the by election for the vacant seat on Cambridgeshire County Council.
LIBERAL Democrat Dave Patrick last night stunned the Conservatives by winning the vacant seats on Fenland District and Wisbech Town Councils.
Mr Patrick, chairman of the Wisbech and District Hackney Carriage Drivers Association, earned more than 50 per cent of the votes in both by elections for the vacant seat on the Kirkgate Ward.
He narrowly missed out on all three seats on offer, losing the Cambridgeshire County Council by election for the Wisbech North Division by Conservative candidate Samantha Hoy.
All three by elections were held following the death of long serving councillor Les Sims in January.
In the district council by election, Mr Patrick polled almost twice the number of votes of Conservative candidate and county councillor Steve Tierney.
Mr Patrick's 287 votes was a 51 per cent share of the 560 votes cast. Cllr Tierney polled 145 votes, a 26 per cent share.
Labour candidate Barry Diggle was a distant third with 74 votes, a 13 per cent share of the vote, and UKIP candidate Paul Clapp was fourth with 54 per cent, a 10 per cent share of the vote.
In the town council by election, Mr Patrick polled 283 votes – 50 per cent of the votes.
Conservative candidate Stephen Brunton was a distant second with 137 votes and Mr Diggle, again standing for Labour, polled 79 votes.
UKIP candidate Alan Lay was fourth with 55 votes, and Independent candidate Lloyd Forster polled just nine votes.
In the county council by election Tory candidate Samantha Hoy polled 548 votes, narrowly beating Mr Patrick who polled 506 votes.
Labour was again a distant third, with Mr Diggle polling 287 votes. Mr Clapp, representing UKIP, came fourth with 233 votes.
Turnout for the district council was 31.1 per cent, and for the town council seat 31.2 per cent.
The turnout for the county council by election was 21.1 per cent. A county council spokesman said there were a total of 1,581 votes. There were seven rejected ballot papers.
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