Election across four Derbyshire villages for spot on council splintered into no overall control

On Thursday, October 8, a new councillor will be elected to fill a vacant seat for the Kilburn, Denby, Holbrook and Horsley ward on Amber Valley Borough Council.

This by-election, the sixth since the 2023 borough council elections and second for the same ward, has been triggered by the resignation of former Conservative councillor Julie Whitmore.

Ms Whitmore had been elected in 2023 as the third of three members for the Kilburn, Denby, Holbrook and Horsley ward.

The Conservatives had held all three seats within the ward, with the remaining spots currently held by councillors Trevor Ainsworth and Matt Murray.

Cllr Murray was elected in the 2025 by-election for the same ward, triggered by the resignation of Amber Valley MP Linsy Farnsworth, to focus solely on her parliamentary role.

Here are the five candidates contesting the October by-election for the vacant Kilburn, Denby, Holbrook and Horsley seat, listed in the order they appear on the ballot:

• Andrew Bayton – Labour
• Paul Moss – Conservative
• Edward Oakenfull – Restore Britain
• Bess Saunders – Green Party
• Juliette Stevens – Reform UK

The borough council is currently in no overall control, following a series of by-election losses and defections from numerous parties, with Labour holding 19 seats and the other parties combined having 22 seats, followed by the contested vacancy.

A total of seven opposition parties are now present on the borough council, which historically had been a two-horse show between the Conservatives and Labour.

The overall makeup of the council is currently as follows: 19 Labour councillors, seven Conservative councillors, five Green Party councillors, three Reform UK councillors, two Derbyshire Community Party councillors, two Amber Valley Independent councillors, two non-aligned independents, and one Liberal Democrat councillor.

In the last borough council by-election in January, for the Codnor, Langley Mill and Aldercar ward, Reform UK’s Councillor Dave Chambers was successful, winning 45 percent of the vote and double his nearest competitor – Labour’s Mark Howard – with a turnout of 18.33 percent.

Meanwhile, the last Derbyshire County Council contest in Amber Valley, which also took place for the Horsley division in January, the Green Party’s Councillor Lian Pizzey was successful, in what became a two-horse race between the Greens and Reform UK.