Reform councillor wins county council by-election

Reform UK has retained a county council seat in a by-election called after the previous councillor resigned.

Howard Tobias won the Ramsey and Bury seat on Cambridgeshire County Council, vacated by James Sidlow, who cited "personal circumstances and wider pressures in my life" when he stepped down.

Tobias, already a Huntingdonshire District Council councillor, won 506 votes, nearly 100 more than the second-placed candidate.

Reform is still the third largest party on the county council, behind the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.

Tobias thanked those who voted for him adding: "To those who didn't vote, that doesn't mean I won't be working on their behalf because we're all neighbours in the area."

He said his main priorities were getting value for money for council taxpayers, making sure planning decisions were carefully considered "so that we don't have unsuitable housing developments in the area", asking whether the council can do more to fix roads and working with police on "safer neighbourhoods".

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