Adrian Waite is the newly elected Westmorland and Furness Council Member for Kirkby Stephen and Tebay after winning a by-election held in the ward on Thursday 31 October 2024.
A Liberal Democrat, Cllr Waite won the seat vacated by the retirement of Cllr Phil Dew.
The result means that the ruling Liberal Democrat Party, led by Cllr Jonathan Brook, increase their majority on the council with 37 out of 65 seats. The Labour Party with 15 seats, the Conservative Party with 10 seats and Independents with three seats make up the rest of the council’s numbers.
A total of 1,073 valid votes were cast in the Kirkby Stephen and Tebay By-election, representing a turnout of 26.17%. Of the votes cast, Cllr Waite received 887 votes and the Conservative Party Candidate, Patricia Bell, received 186 votes. A total of seven ballots were rejected.
Speaking after the declaration, Cllr Waite said, “I’m very grateful to all the people who voted for me, across Kirkby Stephen and Tebay. In fact, I’m very grateful to anybody who voted because anyone that votes in an election is supporting our democracy, which I think is very important.
“I’d like to thank all the people who campaigned for me. I’d like to thank the Conservatives for fielding a candidate and for fighting a fair and reasonable campaign, because if we don’t have contested elections we don’t have a functioning democracy.
“Finally, I’d like to thank all the staff at Westmorland and Furness Council for all the good work they’ve done during the election. Not only for the efficient count, tonight, but also for their work in the polling stations and throughout the campaign.”
For details of all elections held in Westmorland and Furness, visit www.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/voting-and-elections
