10 hours ago
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Daniel HodgsonLocal Democracy Reporting Service
BBC
Liberal Democrat councillor Alison Barnes said she wanted to sort out grass verges
The Liberal Democrats have won a council by-election which saw Reform withdraw support for its candidate over offensive social media posts.
Zetland ward voters elected Alison Barnes to Teesside's Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council on Thursday, following the resignation of Independent councillor Jonny Neal.
Receiving just over 50% of the votes, Barnes said how important it was for her to work for local people and pledged to focus on improving potholes and grass verges.
Mike Manning still appeared on the ballot paper for Reform, despite him saying he wished he could withdraw, because it was too late to field another candidate. He finished third after Labour.
Turnout in the ward was 26.78%, with 886 ballot papers counted.
Reform UK previously said Manning would not be allowed to sit as a party councillor if elected, stating his unearthed social media posts were "unacceptable".
Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said Manning's posts - on a now-deleted account - had contained "sickening insults at Jewish and Muslim communities".
Labour garnered 191 votes, approximately 22% of the total, and Reform saw about 13% with 119 votes, followed by Greens and the Conservatives, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
Barnes said she was "really, really pleased" with the result.
She previously represented the ward from 2019 to 2023 before losing her seat in the last round of local elections.
She said the Labour Party's "star has somewhat waned" since then, when two Labour councillors were elected.
"I, despite not being a councillor, have continued to do lots of work within the area and I think that stood me in very good stead," Barnes said.
Concerns had been raised that the entire election would need to be re-run in the event that Manning won but refused to sign the papers that would formally make him a councillor.
Manning previously stepped away from the process, with the local branch of Reform UK suspending campaigning on his behalf.
He also stated he had resigned his membership.
