James Rixon holds Histon and Impington seat for Liberal Democrats in South Cambridgeshire District Council by-election

The Liberal Democrats have held the South Cambridgeshire District Council seat vacated by Pippa Heylings following her election as MP.

Newly-elected James Rixon said he was “very pleased” to have won the Histon and Impington by-election and hoped to “carry on with the hard work” being done for the area.

Cllr Rixon beat the other four candidates in the election on Thursday (24 October), receiving 942 votes.

Edd Stonham, the independent candidate, came second with 617 votes, with the Green Party’s Kathryn Fisher in third, with 420 votes and Conservative Clive Pelbrough-Power, receiving 283 votes, beating Labour’s William Mason, who polled 172 votes.

The turnout was 28.6 per cent, below the wider district council election turnout from 2022, when 42.46 per cent of eligible voters in the ward cast a vote.

The by-election was called after Pippa Heylings, who had represented the ward, resigned following her election as the new MP for South Cambridgeshire in the July General Election.

The Liberal Democrat leader of the district council, Cllr Bridget Smith, said it had been an “honour” to work with Ms Heylings in her six years as a councillor.

Cllr Rixon, an architect who runs Rixon Architecture, based at the Guildhall in Cambridge, said of his win: “I’m just proud of the support and the team I have been a part of to get here.”

He decided to stand as a candidate following support by local councillors surrounding a flooding issue.

He said: “I was just initially very impressed with the support I was given on the issues I had with my home and dealing with the council. From the support I was given by our local councillors at the district council and county council, I felt that was something I could contribute to.”

Cllr Rixon noted that he had “got a lot of learning to do quite quickly” as a new councillor, but was confident he would pick it up with the support of the Liberal Democrat team.

The council has 35 Liberal Democrat councillors, nine Conservative councillors and one independent councillor.

The result in full

Kathryn Fisher, Green Party – 420
William Mason, Labour Party – 172
Clive Pelbrough-Power, Conservative Party – 283
James Rixon, Liberal Democrat – 942 ELECTED
Edd Stonham, Independent – 617
Turnout: 28.6 per cent