The result of the Newlyn & Goonhavern by-election

I have just got back from the count and I can report that the result was as follows:

Lib Dem – 247
Conservative – 234
Independent – 163
Rod Toms (MK) – 161
Labour – 77
Independent – 75
Independent – 54

Rod is obviously disappointed but I feel it is very solid result for MK.

In 2013, when Rod missed out by only 26 votes, there were only three candidates. One of these was a paper candidate for Labour, who lived many miles away, and it was, to be honest, a straight fight between Rod and the Conservatives.

This time, there were seven candidates. The successful Liberal Democrat candidate was a former councillor on Carrick District Council, while the independent was a former Liberal Democrat who has previously served in prominent positions on both Carrick District and Cornwall County Councils.

At the count, Rod appeared to polling in the top three across the whole division but was squeezed into fourth overall because Ken Yeo managed a strong vote in his home village of Goonhavern.

I would like to congratulate Rod and his team for all their hard work and I really believe that Rod being so competitive against such strong and wide-ranging opposition is a really good sign for MK.