Labour wins Vassall by-election

by-election count
Council leader Lib Peck congratulates new Vassall councillor Paul Gadsby at the Town Hall. Picture: Lambeth council

The Labour party’s Paul Gadsby has been elected as a councillor for Vassall ward, winning 60% of the vote in a local by-election.

Gadsby received 1,319 votes in yesterday’s poll, nearly three times as many as second-place candidate Colette Thomas (Liberal Democrat).

He will replace the Labour councillor Kingsley Abrams, who resigned to stand as a prospective Parliamentary candidate in Brent Central.

Turnout in the ward, which lies to the north of Brixton station and includes the Myatts Field and Cowley estates, was 19.1%.

After the result was announced, Gadsby tweeted: “Very happy to have been elected as the new councillor for Vassall with a big Labour swing and majority. Thank you supporters and residents!”

In an article for the Brixton Blog before his victory, Gadsby wrote that if elected: “My first priority will be to help residents struggling with the rising cost of living…My next priority will be to protect vital community assets like our local parks and the Minet library, which are threatened by savage Lib Dem Tory cuts.”

Labour PartyThe election result in full:

Paul Gadsby, Labour: 1,319 votes, 60%

Colette Thomas, Liberal Democrat: 468 votes, 21%

Kelly Ben-Maimon, Conservative: 153 votes, 7%

Rachel Laurence, Green: 113 votes, 5%

Elizabeth Jones, UKIP: 87 votes, 4%

Steve Nally, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition: 44 votes, 2%

Daniel Lambert, Socialist Party: 22 votes, 1%