A lower turn-out was seen just seven months after the May local elections

Reform UK have narrowly retained a seat on Derbyshire County Council following a snap by-election caused by the sudden resignation of one of its cabinet members.

A tight by-election contest for the Long Eaton North division on the county council saw Reform’s Owen Ferron claim victory by just 23 votes over Conservative Dan Pitt, with Labour in third.

This contest, just seven months after the local elections in May saw 500 fewer votes with a lower turnout of 29 per cent.

However, the narrow victory saw Reform’s grip on the seat fall from a 12 per cent margin to less than one per cent in those seven months in office, claiming 36 per cent of the votes in May (12 per cent ahead of Labour) and 28 per cent this time around (less than one per cent ahead of the Conservatives).

The result returned Reform’s turquoise dominance of the county council to 42 of 64 councillors, with a further by-election to be held in January following a second resignation and subsequent vacancy.

A by-election was required to fill the void left by the October resignation of Reform’s Jack Bradley, education cabinet member, citing “personal reasons”.

Mr Ferron was approached for comment before the result was announced but said he had been “told he was not allowed to talk” but would be available after the conclusion of the count.

However, after the count, when he was approached for comment, Cllr Richard Smith, Reform councillor for the Brimington division, guided Mr Ferron out of the count room and said he was not available to talk to the media, repeating “nothing further” when asked why.

Despite this, Cllr Dan Price, Reform councillor for the Ilkeston North division and group whip, said: “It is a fantastic result for us, it was very close. Owen is going to be a fantastic councillor for the Long Eaton community.

“People on the doorstep were disappointed with the resignation of Jack Bradley, which was not well-received in Long Eaton North.

“We have focussed on local issues but national issues do creep in and people need to understand what a county councillor is responsible for.”

Mr Ferron’s campaign referred to him as a “proud local business owner with a passion for giving back to his community”.

In a Facebook post launching his campaign he wrote: “No matter your view on the party that’s given me this chance, I’m asking for your vote.”

Dan Pitt, Conservative candidate and former borough councillor, said: “This is a huge improvement locally. We came very close.

“Nationally we are 18 points adrift in the polls and here we were 23 votes short. We have a record of delivering locally which sits separately from national politics.

“A lot of Reform voters left and came to us and we have proven that we are the party that can beat Reform. The problem was every party was claiming that and people were confused locally about who to back to beat Reform.”

He said the closure of adult community education centres was a real vote loser for Reform.

National issues were loudest on the doorstep, Mr Pitt said, but with splits in the division with half seeming to focus on High Street vacancies and the other half looking to the asylum seeker hotel in Bostocks Lane.

Earlier in the evening, he had said the campaign had been the best he had seen in a local election and would show that the Conservative party “is not dead” but said a loss would be “hugely disappointing”.

George Carr Williamson, Labour candidate, said he has run a “cordial” campaign, he says the Labour vote has held up despite national politics and “divisive” tactics from other parties.

Mr Carr-Williamson said he has not separated his campaign from the national Labour Party saying “we stand together or we fall apart”

He said more of a focus was needed on local issues like flytipping, anti-social behaviour and HMOs, as well as bringing more investment to Long Eaton.

Samuel Briggs, Lib Dem candidate, said local issues had been a key focus including anti-social behaviour, the state of the roads and pavements and the lack of social care services.

He said he had enjoyed his first foray into politics having joined the party very recently and would compete again if asked and wanted to ensure the party was represented everywhere.

Cheryl Pidgeon, Derbyshire Community Party candidate, said she bid to run a positive campaign and a “different alternative” based on “collectivity in the community, not division” with the main issues being the state of the roads, the economy and council services.

Mell Catori, Green Party candidate, did not attend the count but came in fourth place out of six candidates, compared to fifth of five in May.

The full results are as follow, with candidates listed in the order they appeared on the ballot:

• Samuel Briggs – Liberal Democrat – 154
• George Carr-Williamson – Labour – 579
• Mell Catori – Green Party – 314
• Owen Ferron – Reform UK – 745
• Cheryl Pidgeon – Derbyshire Community Party – 141
• Dan Pitt – Conservative – 722

The makeup of the council following this by-election and ahead of the remaining vacancy being filled is as follows: Reform have 42 councillors, the Conservatives have 11 councillors, Labour have three councillors, the Liberal Democrats have three councillors, the Green Party have two councillors and there are two Independent councillors.