THE FIRST Reform councillor has been directly voted onto Stratford District Council.
Coun Ashley Jones has taken his seat following a by-election in Salford Priors.
He won 272 of the votes, just pipping to the post Liberal Democrat candidate Huw Lewis who received 269 votes.
SDC now has two Reform councillors.
Coun Jones joins fellow Reform councillor Sarah Whalley-Hoggins, who crossed the floor from the Conservatives earlier this year.
The Reform party offered their congratulations to Coun Jones via Facebook posting:
“Ashley Jones for Salford Priors and Alcester Rural is Reform UK’s first directly-elected councillor for the SDC – congratulations.”
Meanwhile, a by-election in Quinton saw a clear win for the Liberal Democrat candidate Paul Harrison with 437 votes.
Stratford MP Manuela Perteghella said: “It is wonderful that Quinton has returned another Lib Dem councillor to represent them. Coun Paul Harrison is going to be a stalwart and visible advocate for Quinton and I am confident that he will serve the people of the ward with a dedication and commitment that has been present throughout the campaign.
“Calm and capable, Paul will make a great addition to the council. Paul replaces Dom Skinner who has stepped down due to RAF reservist commitments.
“The electorate delivered an even higher result for us this time, with 47.3 per cent of the votes being returned for the Liberal Democrats. It is interesting to see that the Conservative vote has largely collapsed here.”
