Night of Victories for Teignbridge Lib Dems
Teignbridge Lib Dems were celebrating last night after two spectacular By-election wins in Bovey and Chudleigh.
Sally Morgan in Bovey came from 4th place in 2015 to win 838 votes and 43.9% of the vote - a 20% increase in the Lib Dem vote. In Chudleigh Richard Keeling won 680 votes and 51.5% of votes in a crushing victory with a 38.8% increase in the Lib Dem share of the vote.
Richard Keeling, the Mayor of Chudleigh, said "people told me that they were looking for a strong voice who would stand up for local people at the Council and fight for our Ward."
Sally Morgan commented that she was "delighted to be back on Teignbridge Council" and and felt privileged that residents had elected her again - an experienced and strong libdem voice was the balance needed in Bovey.
Councillor Gordon Hook, the Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition on Teignbridge Council, expressed delight at these stunning victories and welcomed both victors onto the Council. He said "People are now recognising that we have different priorities to other political parties and our Councillors are more caring and competent in representing local people at all levels of Government. These results along with Alison Eden's fabulous victory in Teignmouth in May put us on course to regain control of Teignbridge in 2019."
Councillor Alistair Dewhirst, Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems on Teignbridge Council, thanked all the candidates and the Teignbridge election team for a well-run and fair election and added "Richard and Sally will bring their proven skills to the Council to help the Lib Dem team ensure that local people have a much stronger voice. These victories top off a sensational year of electoral success for our Party across the South West and boost our prospects for success in May's County Council elections."