By Jamie Shapiro, Local Democracy Reporter
Labour has won the Bitterne by-election, beating the Conservatives by just 13 votes.
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The by-election was held following the death of Conservative councillor Terry Streets in late August.
This by-election result changes the composition of Southampton City Council to 27 Labour, 20 Conservative and one Liberal Democrat.
The new Labour councillor, Yvonne Frampton, pictured second from right, said: "I am really really pleased and delighted the people of Bitterne put their trust in me and the Labour party in the Bitterne by-election.
“I am looking forward to working with local communities and serving the great ward of Bitterne.
“Thank you for everybody that played a part in today’s success."
Things are changing, and Labour is winning again in Itchen!
— Cllr Darren Paffey (@darrenpaffey) December 1, 2022
Huge congratulations to our new @UKLabour councillor for Bitterne ward, Yvonne Frampton! #LabourGain pic.twitter.com/oLrLpGmfBV
The new councillor went on to talk about the “strength” of the Labour party.
She said: "Labour took control of the council in May and clearly the Labour council is going from strength to strength because Bitterne is a ward we lost in May but won a few months later.
"I am looking forward to joining the leader of the council, Satvir Kaur and her team to make Southampton the best place it can be."
Leader of the council, Satvir Kaur tweeted: "Huge CONGRATULATIONS to Yvonne Frampton for being the new ward councillor for Bitterne Ward. An area that has been Conservative for years, but finally coming back to Labour now! Thank you to local residents for backing your Labour Council today".
Due to the tight result, the Conservative group, supporting their candidate Callum Ford, requested a recount. However it turned up the same 13-vote difference.
1,756 votes were cast. This is just over 18% of Bitterne's 9,772 electorate.
Out of these 1,756, minus rejected votes, the overall results were:
806 for Labour.
793 for Conservative
66 for Green
61 for Liberal Democrats
26 for Trade Union and Socialist Coalition
Labour's Cllr Frampton will represent Bitterne alongside the ward’s two existing councillors, Conservatives Cllr Mathew Magee and Cllr Elliot Prior.
She will hold the seat until the local elections in May 2023, when, for the first time in over 20 years, all 48 councillors will have to stand for election following boundary changes.
• On the national stage, Labour have held the city of Chester, securing a huge 10,974 majority and a 14% swing away from the Conservatives in the first by-election under prime minister Rishi Sunak. More on the BBC and other national media.
Photo: Local Democracy Reporting Service
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