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11
May 2021
Conservative Matt Scott: litter, schools and transport top priorities for Bilton
Conservative councillor Matt Scott has said he feels “privileged” to represent Harrogate at county level after his by-election win tightened the Tories’ grip on the town.
He was elected onto one of two Bilton and Nidd Gorge seats on North Yorkshire County Council on Friday.
His victory was a major blow for the Liberal Democrats, which had previously won six out of eight county elections in the area in the last 16 years.
It means the Conservatives have strengthened their power on the county council by lifting their total seats to 57 out of 72.
Speaking on Monday to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Scott said he was pleased with the result as he also set out his top priorities for his new term:
Cllr Scott, who already represents the Bilton Woodfield ward on Harrogate Borough Council and is employed as a caseworker for Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, joins Paul Haslam as one of two Conservative county councillors serving the area.
The by-election was held following the death of Liberal Democrat councillor Geoff Webber, whose party previously had a strong foothold during the last four elections.
Read more:
- Conservatives win Bilton and Nidd Gorge by-election
- Bilton Liberal Democrat candidate 'very sorry' after by-election defeat
Standing to replace him was Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Kempston-Parkes, who was second by a margin of 352 votes.
Mr Kempston-Parkes, a local businessman and former borough councillor, said he was “heartbroken and devastated” by the result but promised the party will come back “stronger than ever”. He said:
Mr Kempston-Parkes also criticised the first-past-the-post voting system, which meant the Conservatives won with 43% of votes. He expressed hopes that other opposition parties could form an alliance to contest elections as one group in the future.
He said:
The by-election held last week was the only local council election held in the Harrogate district.
A full election for all seats on North Yorkshire County Council was scheduled to take place but was cancelled because of the ongoing local government reorganisation.
Under the plans, elections to a new unitary council structure – which will replace the current two-tier system in North Yorkshire – could happen in 2022 depending on government approval.
The Bilton and Nidd Gorge by-election results in full are:
Matt Scott, Conservatives – 1,991 votes 43%
Andrew Kempston-Parkes, Liberal Democrats – 1,639 35%
Tyler Reeton, Labour Party – 434 9%
Anrold Warneken, Green Party – 430 9%
John Hall, Yorkshire Party – 136 3%
Harvey Alexander, Independent – 46 1%
Voter turnout was 37.4% (4,696 votes) and there were 19 spoiled ballots.
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