Nicki Vecqueray is the newly elected Westmorland and Furness Council Member for Eamont and Shap after winning a by-election held in the ward on Thursday 27 February.
A Liberal Democrat, Cllr Vecqueray won the seat vacated at the end of December by the retirement of Cllr Neil Hughes.
The result means that the Liberal Democrat Party, led by Cllr Jonathan Brook, maintains its 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 1,174 valid votes were cast in the Eamont and Shap by-election, representing a turnout of 34.07%. Of the votes cast, Cllr Vecqueray received 789 votes. The Conservative Party Candidate, Hector Meanwell, received 241 votes. The Green Party candidate, Pamela Pottinger, received 68 votes and the Putting Cumbria First candidate, Jonathan Davies, received 76 votes. No ballots were rejected.
Speaking after the declaration, Cllr Vecqueray said, “I’m very grateful to all the people who voted for me, across Eamont and Shap.
“I’d like to thank all the people who campaigned for me. I’d like to thank all the candidates 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
