Counting is under way in the Queen’s Park by-election for a seat on Brighton and Hove City Council.
Candidates, agents and supporters gathered at Hove Town Hall this morning (Friday 25 September) as the ballot boxes were opened.
The number of ballots cast was being verified first before staff counted the number of votes cast for each candidate.
The results are expected at about lunchtime.
Five candidates are standing. They are Stefan Speckesser (Conservative), Mark Strong (Green), Steve Gladwin (Labour), Rüdiger Dikty-Daudiyan (Liberal Democrat) and John Shepherd (Reform UK).
The seat became vacant when Labour councillor Milla Gauge resigned, saying that the council was not doing enough to protect children suffering from gender confusion.
The by-election is the third in the two-member ward since the local elections in May 2023 and the eighth in Brighton and Hove in that time, all caused by the resignation of former Labour councillors.
Milla Gauge won her seat for Labour just over two years ago after Chandni Mistry, from Leicester, was suspended and then expelled by the party, along with her mother Bharti Gajjar, and resigned from the council.
In September last year, Green councillor Marina Lademacher won a seat in the ward from Labour after Tristram Burden resigned, citing a conflict of interest after taking a job with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
At the local elections in May 2023, Labour won a majority, with 38 of the 54 seats. The Greens won seven seats, the Conservatives six and the Brighton and Hove Independents two. One Independent was elected.
With the by-election result awaited today, so one seat vacant, there are currently 31 Labour councillors, 11 Greens, five Tories, four Independents and two Brighton and Hove Independents.
Shame that there was no independent candidate. They seem to represent their wards with a little more integrity and enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, the last independent candidate in QP campaigned on a topic that absolutely collapsed his vote share to friends and family levels, 2-3%. I predict a Labour Hold or Green Gain.
I’ll be interested in seeing where Reform end up as well, they don’t have a hope in hell of winning in Brighton, but how the needle has moved since the dodgy £72m donations from Cypto techboys, donations from convicted fraudster George Cottrell, the sting operation leading to the criminal investigation, and the PS investigation toward Farage himself.
On Green Gain what do you think of Cllr Sunkey step down as leader?
I think that would an extremely performative and pointless rhetoric that no intelligent person would consider a serious comment.
No need to be so self-deprecating, BenBoy. I’m sure your IQ is just above average.
…that doesn’t mean what you think it means, but nice try!