Labour has held Edgeley and Cheadle Heath in the by-election triggered by the death of stalwart councillor Sheila Bailey. Coun Georgia Lynott secured the Stockport seat for Labour with 53pc of the vote, despite unrest in the local party’s ranks and a strong push from the Liberal Democrats.
Lib Dem candidate Robbie Cowbury, came second with 38pc of the vote, while the Greens’ Phil Handscomb took the remaining 9pc. Coun Lynott said she owed her victory to a Labour ‘team effort’.
“I think it was the hard work of everyone - the Labour volunteers getting out on the doorstep talking to people made a big difference,” she said. While her vote share was relatively comfortable it was significantly down on the 72pc recorded by Coun Bailey in 2021 and Coun Louise Heywood at this year’s local elections.
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However, Coun Lynott was not too disheartened by the figures.“We certainly took a bit of a hit compared to what we normally have but it was a by-election, so that’s to be expected somewhat,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“ Edgeley and Cheadle Heath has not seen that level of Lib Dem activity for a long time. I’m pretty pleased with that result overall, so want to build on it going forward.”
The by-election took place against a backdrop of controversy, with ward councillor Matt Wynne resigning from Labour at last week’s full council meeting, claiming the local party was ‘under the grip of a hard left cult’. However, Coun Lynott says she and Labour colleague Coun Heywood want to work ‘constructively’ with Coun Wynne for the good of the ward.
“We are just going to focus on working positively for the ward and doing whatever we can as a Labour team to make people’s lives better,” she said. “I’m not going to get dragged into anything negative - not that there necessarily has to be.”
Coun Lynott will have to face the electorate again at next year’s ‘all out’ local elections - where all 63 council seats will be up for grabs. But she is determined to hit the ground running over the next seven months.
“I really want to get out and get embedded in the community and start linking up with the fantastic community groups,” she said. “Making sure we are involved in the community, people know who we are and carry on chatting to people on the doorstep and making sure we are dealing with casework and pushing for the investment Edgeley and Cheadle Heath needs and deserves.
Edgeley and Cheadle Heath by-election result
Georgia Lynott (Labour) 1172 (53pc) elected
Robbie Cowbury (Lib Dem) 840 (38pc) not elected
Phil Handscomb (Green) 200 (9pc) not elected
Turnout: 21 pc
The borough of Stockport is made up of 21 wards with 3 councillors representing each ward. There are 63 seats in total.
The political make-up of Stockport council is now as follows:
Liberal Democrats 28
Labour, including Labour and Co-operative 24
Conservatives 4
Independent Ratepayers 3
Green 2
Independent 2
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