Today Andrea Turner, Conservative was ousted in a third recount in Redcar and Cleveland. The result at Longbeck ward, Cleveland and Redcar was the final result for the local elections in England.
It must have been a tense morning. Here is the last ballot box being opened.
So the councillors elected are:
- Luke Myer (Labour)
- Vera Rider (Independent)
The recount request came as a result of a very close call between Andrea Turner, Conservative and Vera Rider(Independent).
The full results are:
- Luke Myer (Lab) : 707
- Stephen Crane (Ind) : 246
- Vera Rider (Ind) : 413
- Andrea Turner (Con) : 409
- Vic Jeffries (Ind) : 342
- Steve Turner (Con) : 293
Luke Myer, Labour, won by a substantial margin. Labour stood only one candidate. Vera Rider beat Andrea Turner by only 4 votes.
Luke told North East Bylines:
“I’m honoured to be elected, and blown away to have topped the ballot with over 700 votes. We came a clear 1st place in every round of counting, beating the Conservatives in what was previously one of the bluest parts of East Cleveland. I’m so grateful to everyone who supported our campaign. I’ll keep working hard for my community all year round.”
The Returning Officer
The Returning Officer is John Sampson. He’s Managing Director of Redcar Council AND an associate member of the STDC board.
Steve Turner and Andrea Turner
Steve and Andrea Turner also stood together as UKIP candidates in the council elections of 2015. Mr Turner was elected then.
Mr Turner was elected as the region’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) in 2021. His decision to stand as Councillor for Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has met with some criticism given the demands of his day job in a high crime area.
In a letter to Middlesbrough Council concerning their plan to turn off half the town’s street lights, A/Supt Wendy Tinkler, wrote:
“Cleveland has the highest crime rate in England and Wales with 134.9 offences per 1000 population in the year 2022.”
Mr Turner has busied himself recruiting for eight PR-type positions in his office.
The vacancies are for: Engagement Officer, Policy, Partnerships and Delivery Officer and Manager, Research Officer, Performance Analyst, Standard Scrutiny and Accountability Office, and Business Support Officer.
Mr Turner has come under fire in the past for his personal conduct. He has an old police caution for theft. A second referral to the IOPC from the Cleveland police and crime panel was about an alleged sex assault in the 1980s. Neither case affected his position as PCC.
Mrs Turner was until last week a Conservative councillor and Leader of the Tory Group on Redcar council. She currently works as Senior Caseworker for local Tory MP Simon Clarke.
The Labour Party has the largest number of councillors with 22 seats – including the additional seven seats. But they don’t have enough for an overall majority and will no doubt be locked in closed door discussions concerning a coalition.
The Conservatives doubled the number of their group to 12.
There was a decline in the population of the assorted Independents and one of their number, Mary Lanigan the Council Leader, lost her seat. She had faced a loss of support following formal censure concerning her behaviour in a dispute about the war memorial in her home village.
