Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham, welcomes Conservative victory in the local elections.
Originally set to take place in 2020, the local elections were postponed due to coronavirus and instead took place on May 6th, 2021, with 145 English local councils facing elections and 5000 seats up for grabs. 13 mayoral elections and 39 Police and Crime Commissioner elections also took place.
Richard has now welcomed the news that both seats in Delves Lane and Templetown were won by Conservative candidates Angela Sterling and Michelle Walton. Conservatives Mike McGaun and Doug Oliver won both seats in Lanchester, Castleside and Burnhope, and two of the three seats in Crook, Howden and the villages were won by Conservatives Patricia Jopling and Mike Currah. All seats that Conservatives stood in saw the number of Conservative votes rise, and Willington saw the Labour councillor remain in place by just nine votes.
64 councillors are needed for overall control in Durham County Council, and the current numbers are now as follows:
- Labour 53 (-16)
- Conservatives 24 (+14)
- Lib Dems 17 (+2)
- Independents 27 (-2)
- North East Party 4 (+1)
- Green 1 (+1)
You can find your local councillor and their contact details here.
Richard has asked all elected councillors to meet with him to discuss how they can work together to support and improve North West Durham for the benefit of the local communities. The first full meeting of the council will take place on May 26th.
Commenting, Richard said:
“I am absolutely delighted that the Conservatives did so well in the local elections this year and want to thank everyone who took the time to support us – whether it was campaigning for us or voting for us.
“I want to say a huge congratulations to all our new Conservative councillors, all of whom I know will work incredibly hard to ensure that our local communities are supported and looked after, whether it’s by tackling fly-tipping, speeding or working with me on Levelling Up funding bids. I also want to say a huge thank you to all Conservative candidates who stood in North West Durham.
“The local elections in North West Durham and the wider North East were a huge success for the Conservative party, and we will all be continuing to campaign and work together to ensure that we continue to do well in future elections, represent the people we serve and help our communities however we can.”
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