It’s the latest in a string of councillor by-election losses for Labour with the Tory candidate saying he “can’t wait to get started”.
Keir Starmer has bee (Image: Getty)
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s popularity continues to plummet as the Tories clinch yet another by-election victory.
The Conservatives have another councillor in Greenwich after winning the Eltham Town & Avery Hill by-election, comfortably beating the Labour candidate.
Charlie Davis, who had been a councillor in the area until May 2022, grabbed back his seat after picking up 1,522 votes, trouncing Labour’s Chris McGurk, who won 981 votes, reports The Greenwich wire.
The win only adds to Labour’s woes as the party lost a swathe of council seats last week, with their vote share dropping across the country.
In a post on social media website X new councillor Charlie Davis said he was “absolutely delighted” and “can’t wait to get started.”
He said: “Absolutely delighted to have been elected by my fellow residents in Eltham Town & Avery Hill as their councillor.
“I’ve been blown away by the support in this campaign – this result is the result of everyones hard work.
“I can’t wait to get started delivering for my community.”
Across 19 council by-elections last week, Labour lost four seats and the Tories gained four seats, despite the Conservatives still being in the midst of a leadership election.
Averaged across all 16 seats Labour fielded candidates, Sir Keir’s party lost over 10 percent of their vote share. The biggest blows were dealt in South Ribble, North East Derbyshire and Leeds, where Labour lost 21.6 percent, 21.3 percent and 20 percent of their vote share respectively.
Only London and Scotland provided any solace for the beleaguered party, where two by-elections in Ealing and North Lanarkshire saw them put on 0.1 percent of the vote.
The Tories gained four seats, two from independents in Fylde and Pembrokeshire, and two from Labour in Worthing and North East Derbyshire – the latter with a swing of 15.7 percent.
Meanwhile the Greens snatched a seat from Labour in Leeds as did the Lib Dems in Southampton. The Tories also gained a seat from the Lib Dems in Elmbridge.
The results confirmed recent polling which suggests the party has already plummeted in popularity since the election on July 4.
