CANDIDATES from both the Conservative and Labour parties were elected onto Dodington Parish Council following last Thursday’s by-election.

The vacancies, previously held by two Liberal Democrat councillors, arose after the passing of a former popular councillor and the resignation of another, due to personal reasons.

The Liberal Democrat party, which represents the ward on the district, and held two vacancies previously on the parish, did not field candidates for the Thursday vote, leaving Labour and the Conservatives as the only parties to take part.

Jonathan Shaw (Conservative) and John Malone (Labour) were both elected as parish councillors. Jonathan Shaw gained the highest number of votes, 267, with John Malone coming in 43 votes behind, at 224. Sarah Hurley, also Labour, received 206 votes.

There was quite a low turnout, with 11.4 per cent of the electorate entering a ballot paper.

Mike McGrath, secretary of Thornbury and Yate Labour party, said: “We’re disappointed by the result, but we’re still glad we did it, it was a good exercise in democracy.”

Cllr Shaw thanked residents: “I would like to thank our community for their support and trust in me, and I look forward to getting stuck in and getting on with the job of improving our area – working with all parish councillors to tackle the issues we face here.”

Labour’s John Malone said: “ I’m really pleased to be given this opportunity to represent the people in the parish.”

Thornbury and Yate MP, Luke Hall welcomed the result and said: “I am delighted to congratulate both Jon Shaw and John Malone on their election to the Parish and I look forward to working with all councillors, regardless of which party they represent, in working for Yate.”

The calling of the election by the Labour party began with controversy, after local Conservatives expressed disappointment at the £8,000 cost to run the poll. Labour rejected these concerns, stating that the poll was an important part of the democratic process.