Conservatives claim clean sweep in North East Derbyshire council by-elections

The death of Labour’s longtime Councillor Gerry Morley this summer left his wards without a representative on Clay Cross Parish Council and North East Derbyshire District Council.

By-elections for both positions took place on Thursday, October 10 together with a vacant seat on Wingerworth Parish Council and the count delivered a clean sweep for the Tories.

After losing the parliamentary constituency to Labour in July and control of the district council in 2023, these victories have been hailed as signs of a recovery in the eyes of local voters.

Cllr Alex Dale, leader of the opposition Conservative Group at NEDDC, said: “The results are also a damning indictment of Keir Starmer’s completely inept Labour Government which is depriving pensioners of the support they need this winter and seems to care more about cashing in on freebies from their cronies than delivering on the priorities of local people in North East Derbyshire.

“We hope the results yesterday send a clear message that Clay Cross and Wingerworth deserve so much better.”

In the Clay Cross North district ward, Jess Stokes took the seat with 624 votes, ahead of Labour (356), the Green Party (175) and Liberal Democrats (69).

She is the first ever Conservative elected to hold the position in what has historically been regarded as one of Labour’s strongest heartland seats.

At parish level, Clay Cross North will now be represented by Yvonne Shaw who topped the poll with 589 votes, beating Labour (424) and the Liberal Democrats.

Yvonne is said to be only the second Conservative ever to sit on the parish council.

In the Longedge ward for Wingerworth parish, which elected Liberal Democrat Dean Murphy in 2023, Conservative Peter Pollard was elected with 83 votes, ahead of the Lib Dems (42), Labour (33) and the Greens (five).

Lee Rowley, North East Derbyshire’s MP from 2017 to 2024, said: “These are amazing results and are testament to the hard work of our fantastic candidates Jess, Yvonne and Peter and the many volunteers from the local Party who put so much time in to support them.

“The results demonstrate that we are the only real effective opposition to Labour in this area, particularly as we made history yesterday with the results in Clay Cross.”

Charlotte Cupit, who holds the Shirland district ward and Clay Cross county division, was also full of praise for the successful candidate.

She said: “I know Jess, Yvonne and Peter will be hitting the ground running working tirelessly with me and other local members to repay the support of those who placed their trust in them. But however you voted in the by-election they’ll be there to represent and support you.” Alex Platts, chair of the North Derbyshire Conservative Association, added: “The tide is turning, and once again voters have put their trust and faith in effective, local Conservative candidates. Jess, Yvonne and Peter are really keen to get on with the task at hand and serve the local residents in their respective seats.”

Speaking about the by-election results, Louise Jones, Labour MP for NE Derbyshire said:“Firstly, I'd like to thank all our voters and canvassers in Clay Cross North last night. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to get us over the line yesterday, but we had a fantastic campaign.

"Whilst people are happy overall with the direction of the national government, it's clear some things we need to do better.

"I will continue to listen to communities in Clay Cross and represent them in Parliament.

"I’m still onboarding my team but if you have any queries or issues, I can help you with please don’t hesitate to get in contact using [email protected]’

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