Agency by William Gibson 
A new member of Sandbach Town Council has promised to be a “loud, strong voice” for the community.
Coun Colin Storey won the Elworth by-election for Labour on Thursday.
He replaced former Labour councillor Kathryn Flavell, who quit in June as she was moving to Scotland.
The poll was triggered because more than 10 Elworth residents wrote to Cheshire East Council requesting a by-election.
Four candidates ran against Coun Storey, three of whom had attempted to win a seat on the town council last month during Ettiley Heath and Wheelock’s by-election to replace former Conservative Coun Martin Deakin.
Lib Dem Callum Chalmers came in last place in both elections, this time with 76 votes.
Reform UK’s Philip Pinto, who also stood in Ettiley Heath and Wheelock, received 93 votes.
Jason Knight, for the Conservatives, who did not stand in July’s by-election, won 165 votes
Former Ettiley Heath and Wheelock Independent town councillor Richard Hovey had attempted to regain his seat last month having lost it in last year’s local elections.
But he was beaten by Labour’s Coun Sandrene Wright and was once again second best to a Labour rival on Thursday, winning 217 votes – just one fewer than he had managed to secure a few weeks ago.
With 299, Coun Storey was victorious by just 82 votes. He has filled the final empty position on the town council, becoming its 13th Labour member out of 21 seats.
The Conservatives have four members, the Independents have two, while Coun Michelle Hough is the only Lib Dem representative at the town hall. Coun Dave Poole, originally elected as an Independent, now represents Reform UK.
The morning after his victory, Coun Storey took to social media to celebrate his win.
Posting to a community group, he said: “Good morning, Elworth. As your newly-elected Labour councillor, I promise to be a loud, strong voice on Sandbach Town Council and do my very best to make a difference to the community I care about so much.”
He received comments of support, including from one member of the group, who said: “Great to hear… sure you’ll make a big difference, congrats.”
But Coun Storey also received his first taste of criticism having been elected, when some group members were not happy with his choice of words.
One said: “Loud and strong does not necessarily say you are shouting for what residents of Elworth want!”
When Coun Storey replied to say that he would endeavour to represent all of Elworth’s residents, someone responded: “We’ve had enough of local councillors who shout, so I think they were pretty stupid words to use.”
Another person said: “Hopefully everyone can keep the politics out of it and we will see some posts on here and ‘Sandbach Life’ about what is going on.”
(Photo: John Arnold).
