Lib Dems take 50th seat in city

Jan 31 2009 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

THE ruling Liberal Democrats have won another seat on Newcastle City Council following a by-election on Thursday.

Mitzi Emery secured a narrow 24-vote majority in the Fenham by-election, pipping Labour’s Helen McStravick.

The by-election was called following the death of Labour stalwart and former Lord Mayor Terry Cooney in September.

The Conservatives could only manage a distant fourth place behind the Lib Dems, Labour and the BNP, whose candidate Ken Booth won 836 votes. The Conservatives won just 186 votes.

Mum-of-three Coun Emery, who manages Greggs in West Denton, said: “I’m over the moon to win. I want to do my best to make things better for people in the ward.

“It was very close and I was actually shocked by the result, by how many votes the BNP got. I think I know what people around here want and I’m really looking forward to trying my hardest for them.”

The council’s Liberal Democrat leader John Shipley said: “I’m absolutely delighted. We now have 50 councillors and we’re the largest Liberal Democrat group in the UK. I’m particularly pleased by the confidence that the people of Newcastle are putting in us but with that comes great responsibility.”

Labour candidate Helen McStravick said: “We only just lost and we couldn’t believe we managed to get so close. We had a good campaign and this is a really good result for us. This puts us in a good position for next year.”