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Tories hold Westbourne in by-election

By James Ledward
Dec 23, 2011 - 10:23:39 AM
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Cllr Graham Cox

The conservatives held Westerbourne Ward in yesterdays by-election which was caused by the resignation of former leader of the council, Brian Oxley.

Graham Cox the former Hove Police Commander pushed Nigel Jenner, Labour and co-operative into second place and Elly Greenbaum for the Greens into third place.

Explaining why the Green surge from the elections in May did not continue through to this by-election a spokesperson for the Greens said:
 
“Our excellent candidate, Louisa Greenbaum, fought a wonderful campaign but this is a traditionally conservative ward and Graham Cox is a popular candidate somewhat in the mould of his long-standing predecessor, Brian Oxley.
 
“The Greens are in the middle of a council budget in which we’re forced to absorb an unprecedented £35m of Tory-Coalition cuts and, in these difficult times, we have chosen to protect our most vulnerable adults and children by proposing a small council tax rise of 3.5%. No tax rise is ever popular yet voters have remained loyal: last night’s result is a re-run of May 2011, with the leading parties placed in the same order and the Greens continuing with a quarter of the votes. The people of Westbourne have clearly accepted the Green budget and the Greens’ performance during our first seven months in office.
 
“We believe that as our budget proposals take effect next year and people are able to see how well the city fares compared to other councils across the country, the voters of Brighton and Hove will agree with our judgement and will continue to support us across the city."
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Cllr Gill Mitchell
Gill Mitchell, Leader of the Labour and Co-operative group, said:
"This is a very good result for Labour in a naturally Tory ward. The campaign highlighted public dissatisfaction with the Green Council budget and their mis-handling of school place allocations.

"The Greens' momentum has stopped as people increasingly question their ability to run the city."
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Mike Weatherely, MP
Mike Weatherely, MP for Hove said:
“Graham Cox makes a fantastic addition to the Conservative group on Brighton & Hove City Council. Our team ran an energetic campaign and the result for the residents is a true community champion as a representative on the council. Well done Graham. I wish you the best of luck representing the residents of Westbourne.”
 
“These results also highlight how the Green Party has been rejected by the overwhelming majority of residents. It’s not surprising though given their record since taking control of the council. This by-election has been an embarrassing barometer of their lack of appeal following a policy smudge.”
 
Susan Patricia Collard, The European Citizens Party 13 votes

Graham Cox, Conservative Party Candidate 1027 votes

Louisa Elly Greenbaum, Green Party 645

Nigel Jenner, The Labour and Co-operative Party Candidate, 826

Gareth Jones, Liberal Democrat 45

Paul William Perrin, UK Independence Party (UK I P) 36 votes

Pip Tindall, Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts 20 votes

Turnout 35%
 


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