On Thursday May 06th the same day that elections took place for Lancashire County Council, the Lancashire Police & Crime Commissioner, 3 By-Elections were held in 3 Wards: Billington & Langho (following the death of Cllr Ruth Baxter); Mellor (following the death of Cllr Noel Walsh) and West Bradford and Grindleton (following the retirement of Cllr Bridget Hilton).
In all 3 wards Conservative Candidates won making a clean sweep of the seats. In Billington and Langho, Steve Farmer achieved 638 votes taking 65.57% of the vote with a majority of 384 over Labour. In Mellor Robin Walsh achieved 712 votes taking 66.48% of the vote with a majority of 512 over Labour. In West Bradford and Grindleton Kevin Horkin achieved 416 votes taking 71.36% of the vote with a majority of 326 over Labour.
The election of Robin Walsh in Mellor is a validation of the work done by his brother Councillor Noel Walsh who was one of the longest served Councillors on Ribble Valley Borough Council whose untimely death led to this by-election. The fact that Robin has been succeeded by his brother is a great moment for the Walsh family and the years of service Noel delivered the residents of Mellor. It is pleasing that Robin will be able to carry on his brother’s legacy.
Kevin Horkin is a former Ribble Valley Borough Councillor and Parliamentary Candidate and has been re-elected back on to the Ribble Valley Borough Council. We welcome him back enthusiastically on to the Council for the experience he brings. He achieved a fantastic result, achieving 71% of the votes cast.
Steve Farmer, is a family man with a deep and embedded commitment to his local community, Langho football club where he is a coach, Langho Church and also a member of the Parish Billington and Langho Council. Steve achieved 65% of the votes cast, a recognition of the community’s confidence in him.
Conservative Chairman Councillor David Peat “I would like to commend the hard work and dedication of our candidates, election team and members in achieving these results. Particular mention should be made of Stuart Hirst the by election co-ordinator who skillfully helped to direct the campaigns.
Councillor Stephen Atkinson, the Leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council stated, “I feel really proud of the dedication and humility shown by Council Staff in delivering the democratic process in a Covid safe environment. We often take it for granted in this country how hard our public servants work to deliver the results of a democratic election when in a number of countries around the world this simply does not happen."
