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So close as Tory wins election
TORIES triumphed by a narrow margin last night in a closely-fought Lytham by-election.
Leonard Davies, a former transport manager, won the vacant Clifton ward seat, scoring 386 votes.
The poll followed the death of Fylde’s longest- standing councillor, Conservative Bill Thompson.
Frank Murphy, a former firefighter standing for the Fylde Ratepayers’ Association, came in second with 372 votes.
A delighted Mr Davies said: “It’s been a real team effort. “All I can say is I will listen to the people of the ward and the Fylde and try to do my best for them.”
Mr Murphy, meanwhile, pledged to try again to gain a seat on the council.
“I’m obviously greatly disappointed by the outcome,” he said. “I’ve got to accept though, this was my first venture into local politics.”
Many at the polls were surprised by how close the result was in a historically strong Conservative area.
Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate, Liam Robinson, said despite his party’s candidate Janet Sherwood gaining only 80 votes, he was buoyed by the result.
“It’s definitely a bloody nose for the Tories,” he said.
The two other candidates, Liberal Democrat, Mike Turner, and the Green Party’s Hilda Speakman, scored 241 and 13 votes respectively.
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Weather for Blackpool
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 27 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South west
