Liberal Democrat Nick Stuart secured a landslide victory in the Brighstone, Calbourne and Shalfleet by-election yesterday (Thursday), taking a seat on the Isle of Wight Council away from the Conservatives.
Top of the by-election poll last night (Thursday), Nick gained more than 50% of the vote – and finished nearly 290 votes ahead of Conservative candidate Carol Bryan. The Brighstone ward had been held by the Conservatives since 2005.
The win will come as a massive blow to the Conservatives as it has been a stronghold of theirs for many years and was the former ward of now-MP Bob Seely when he was on the council.
The by-election was prompted by the resignation of Steve Hastings. He won the seat in 2018 with a 170-vote margin, securing a total of 549 votes. In that election, Nick Stuart got 377 votes.
Speaking after his win, Cllr Stuart said he was very pleased with the result:
“It has been a long time coming. I have stood four times previously, unsuccessfully.
“The critical thing is to listen to voters, understand what the issues are and put that forward, with the values we hold.”
Cllr Stuart said concerns raised with him in the run-up to the election campaign had included speeding, over-development, sewerage and drainage. He added the result was, at least in part, a message to both the government and the Isle of Wight Council:
“Everybody I spoke to, including Conservatives, said, ‘I used to vote X but I don’t know what to do now.’
“The problem is they have no faith in central government.”
Cllr Stuart also said County Hall’s leading Alliance administration was trying hard and moving in the right direction but, it was felt, not fast enough. He did not rule out the possibility of joining the Alliance, but said it would be subject to a discussion with fellow Liberal Democrat, Councillor Andrew Garratt.
Voter turnout was lower than the previous election round in May last year, with only 37.75% of the electorate heading out to vote. A total of 986 ballot papers were submitted but 1 was rejected as it had no mark to determine who they were voting for.
Despite a lower turnout than the May election and 301 fewer votes than the last election in 2021, Cllr Stuart only received 23 fewer votes than Mr Hastings did to win the seat previously.
Brighstone, Calbourne and Shalfleet By-Election Results – 24th November 2022
- Turnout: 37.75%
- Doug Alldred, The Green Party – 153 votes
- Carol Bryan, Local Conservatives – 239 votes
- Gary Clarke, Labour Party – 31 votes
- Stephen J. Parkes, Vectis Party – 36 votes
- Nick Stuart, Liberal Democrat – 526 votes
The critical thing is to listen to voters, says the new liberal councillor…
then councillor you will hear…
no more housebuilding on greenfields – the infrastructure cant cope
no more freeloaders arriving on the island, burdening us with their presence.
cut the council tax so that hard working taxpayers aren’t being continually rinsed to fund the feckless, sponging layabouts.
cut the taxpayer funded moves to the island, cut airbnb, cut second home ownership and free up these houses/flats for born and bred islanders to move into.
Funny how he polled 67 more votes than the rest combined, eh?
Either people don’t care much either way (37.75% turnout) or they actively reject right-wing philosophies. And that was in the West Wight’s “Daily Mail” heartland, too.
Gratifying that swivel-eyed loons like you are actually in the minority in the real world even if they infest this sewer of a publication.
really – so you are in favour of concreting over the island with more houses, creating more and more queues of traffic, more pollution, more queues for the hospital, more taxation to give more handouts to lazy people and unfettered immigration, creating more pressure on everyone and everything
this is not about left or right wing labels – this is about protecting the islands environment, the islands way of and quality of life, as well as adequate access to existing services for islanders and ensuring that those who think they can exist off the backs of everyone else, cannot.
calling someone a swivel eyed loon, for having a realistic view of what needs to happen to prevent the island becoming a bigger mess, is odd.
Says the bloke who constantly makes it all about left or right wing labels by constantly bleating about migrants and benefit claimants.
again – nothing to do with left or right wing labels – anyone of any political viewpoint can see that taxpayer funded immigrants, benefit claimants and other state dependencies are a negative to the quality of life of those that are paying taxes.
society must ensure that working is more beneficial than not working and claiming benefits, otherwise the society begins to collapse as less work and more claim -eventually there wouldn’t be staff to process claims, as they would be claimants as well.
not too difficult to understand that society must make work more attractive than benefits to survive.
And so we should all be concerned about illegal immigrants and benefit claimants.
Too many of both if the truth wants to be heard. Bad back has now been taken over by ‘mental health’ issues, being the main reason why some lazy people don’t want to work and leach off the British tax payer.
I’m not referring to genuine people who have medical issues, physical or mental, I’m referring to the lazy, can’t be bothered, no work ethic bums who have never worked and don’t want to work.
Get them in employment so they can start giving rather than just taking from society
Yes, “some lazy people”. In other words a minority of those on benefits, many of whom are actually working.
Wighter demonises everyone and anyone who so much as gets a fiver off the state and regularly bleats the usual gammony bleat about them all having top-of-the-range iPhones, etc. All of it false, but it fits his extreme right wing political axe.
And mental health issues are all too real. Many of those who can’t work because of mental health problems are services veterans. Guessing wighter thinks they should be made of sterner stuff.
As for immigrants. Yeah, it’s a problem, but howling “send them back”, which can’t be done, like wighter solves nothing.
Could not agree more, well stated, isle of wighter is an extreme right winger and a very angry individual who has a clear vision that only exists in his/her own head, its rather sad how he/she readily reacts with insults to those who reply in response to the comments passed by isle of wighter.
When will you realise, you do not come across well, any valid point you may have is lost, when you brand people on benefits as scroungers and immigrants as some kind of lowlife, you have previously stated you no longer donate to RNLI as they act like Taxi’s for illegal immigrants.
It’s only a “shock” if you are a Tory drone with their head in the sand.
I assume Island Echo mean that the “shock” is Nick winning rather than the by-election itself, which is how the headline reads.
Hope it’s a pre-cursor of what is going to happen in the near future Island and country-wide.
The Tories in freefall.
Interesting to note the party with the least votes cast is Labour.
Yet not surprising few vote Labour, as the wise know that they would allow in even more imm’s and they would give even more to spongers. They do this to appease the easy to whip up discontent between the poor and the rich.
Yet, what they fail to realise is, many of those two brackets don’t ‘bover’ or bother to vote anyway.
So despite having an alarming increase in both, it does, so far, Labour little favours.
Sadly the Tories have ‘become’ more Labour like by giving to the spongers and imm’s, hence the wiser classes have sussed such and turned against them, yet can’t vote Labour knowing it will be worse. Hence Liberals in here but main election may be different.
Why, when I vote a thumbs up to a comment It immediately returns a massive thumbs down???
Because certain individuals (Genuine isle of wighter) know how to manipulate the thumbs UP or Down on here.
This happens if ever anyone speaks anything negative about immigration or spongers.
So a lefty or has a buggy full in the family I expect.
Stop spouting crap.
Not even two different people from the same house can downvote the same post because they all have the same IP address.
The fact you’d rather believe that than the truth that your extreme right views aren’t that popular and how taken in you are by the right wing press.
Maybe you should leave your echo chamber once in a while.
Well done Councillor Stuart for knocking the conservative of their perch .. but the IWC needs leadership and the current structure does not work,, but I do agree with your comment the people distrust Government and would add Local Council as well …. certainly true on the Isle of Wight ……good luck being listened too in any council meeting, don’t let the known bullies win..
Why is it a ‘shock’ result? The Conservatives have destroyed the UK since they have been in Government control. Looking after their own big salary chums has finally come to an end. The money these irresponsible MPs have wasted over the years is criminal.
Spare a thought for all the Nurses, Junior Doctors, Police, Fire Brigade, Ambulance and Paramedics who have not had a pay rise in 10 years. Though the Bankers and all the Tory chums have been doing alright. It’s disgusting and it’s time they are ousted from Number 10.
Vote wisely at the next General Election!
and where do you think the money comes from to pay all these public sector pay rises – you, the taxpayer. clearly not that bright are you.
yes they have had pay rises – just like all others
Agreed. The Tories have bled us dry. With all their lies and cheating and abject failure to support essential services, it’s easy to see that they are ONLY working in their own interests, not in the interest the electorate who put them in power.
They must not be allowed to continue.
The villagers who did bother to vote clearly didn’t know what they were voting for!!!
Funny how people like yourself always think it’s other people’s fault just because you don’t agree with their policies. I seem to remember Labour when in power throwing money away until they were voted out and then leaving nothing in the coffers for the Conservatives.
What is a shcok when it is at home?
Not sure our government failed with Boris,but Lizzy Truss made them look silly and not sure much better now. A change is looking likely at next general election. Hopefully we will also get a council that spends to support its communities well being and not taking from us to make itself look good,if my council tax was not so high maybe I could get an electric car,new boiler, fleet of cars, nice furniture,a new lap top and latest mobile phone and even pay for my electric and heating – oh forgot I’ve got to pay,by law, for them to enjoy comforts etc whilst I and thousands of others go without !.
Excellent. Yet more evidence that the Tories are now unelectable. Bring on the next general election……