Labour win council by-election called after Reform paperwork blunder

Labour have claimed a town council seat off Reform in a by-election was called after a paperwork gaffe from the previous Reform councillor.

Back in May, Reform UK’s Olivia Westcott was elected to Kidsgrove Town Council, Newcastle-under-Lym, in May in an uncontested election for the Kidsgrove Central and Ravenscliffe ward.

However, Westcott was forced to vacate the seat after she failed to sign paperwork on time following her election.

Westcott said a “family emergency” was the reason she missed the 21 May deadline to formal accept the office by signing the paperwork.

As a result, a by-election was called, which took place on Thursday – and saw Labour win the seat off Reform.

Labour candidate Ange Cooper won 403 votes, narrowly defeating Westcott who got 377 votes, the Stoke Sentinel reports.

Independent Georgia Shenton came third with 127 votes, while Conservative candidate Cressida Dickens came last with 122 votes. Turnout was 16.9 per cent.

Charlie Herbert

Charlie is content editor and writer at the London Economic. With a keen interest in politics, he has worked on both the 2019 and 2024 general elections, and joined TLE full time in January 2025. Since then, it's safe to say there's been plenty to keep him busy on both sides of the Atlantic.