Lib Dems win Cambridgeshire County Council by-election and become authority’s biggest party

The Liberal Democrats have gained the Yaxley and Farcet in a Cambridgeshire County Council by-election triggered by the death of Conservative councillor Mac McGuire.

Lib Dem Andrew Richard Wood secured 509 votes to beat Kev Gulson, who was representing the Conservative Party and received 470 votes.

Sally Ann Howell, an independent, polled 448 votes followed by Labour’s Richard Ilett with 175 votes and the Green Party’s Ellisa Westerman with 42. The turnout was 19.95 per cent.

“I am very grateful to all those who voted, I will use my position to raise the profile of the villages in Cambridgeshire. During the campaign, having knocked on about 1,000 doors, I gained an insight into the concerns of residents. I am going to compile those and look at how to address them over the coming months,” the newly-elected Cllr Wood said.

Cllr McGuire – or Mac as he was known to councillors, council staff and the residents he served in the Yaxley and Farcet division – was the county council’s longest serving councillor, having first been elected to the county council from 1985 to 1992, and then again continuously from 1997.

The win means the Lib Dems, who run the council under a joint administration with the Labour and Independent groups, are now the authority’s biggest party.

Cllr Wood said the Liberal Democrats becoming the largest party was a “milestone” that he was “pleased” to be a part of.

Council leader Cllr Lucy Nethsingha (Lib Dem, Newnham) said the result would not make a “huge change” to the party’s policy direction.

“It is really good to see that the things we are doing are appreciated by people and people recognise there are alternatives to Conservatives in large areas of Cambridgeshire,” she said.

All seats on the council will be up for grabs next year as the joint administration faces its first full election since taking control in 2021.

Cllr Nethsingha said the result was encouraging, but added: “We cannot take anything for granted, a week is a long time in politics let alone a year.

“We will continue to make sure we are representing people in Cambridgeshire and making sure we are thinking about all our residents when planning what the county council does.”

The council is now made up of 23 Lib Dems, 22 Conservatives, nine Labour and four Independent councillors. There are also a further three independent councillors, who are not aligned with the independent group.

Additional reporting by Hannah Brown, Local Democracy Reporter.