After more than two decades as a Conservative stronghold, the villages of Brighstone, Calbourne and Shalfleet have gone yellow — voting in a Liberal Democrat to represent them on the Isle of Wight Council instead.
Once the seat of Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely, Cllr Nick Stuart now represents the area, after voters went to the polls yesterday (Thursday).
The full seat was previously held by the Conservatives since 2011 but Brighstone itself has been blue since 2005.
This time around, Conservative Carol Bryan secured just under a quarter of the votes cast (239), compared to Cllr Stuart’s landslide victory, with more than half the total votes (526).
Cllr Stuart’s share was more than the four other candidates in the running, combined.
Against a backdrop that sees winter by-elections get historically lower turnouts, Ms Bryan received 310 fewer votes than were won by the area’s former Conservative councillor, Steve Hastings, in May 2021.
Mr Hastings left the Isle of Wight Council in October, saying he no longer believed in the Conservative Party.
In his resignation statement, he said two turbulent years in politics, with Partygate and scandals tarnishing the Tory party, followed by a lack of governance and the ‘farce’ that engulfed the leadership, had led him to become disillusioned with politics and politicians, locally and nationally.
Just 19 months ago, in that May election, Steve Hastings beat Nick Stuart by 170 votes.
They previously went head-to-head in the 2018 by-election, called to fill a gap left by Bob Seely’s move to Parliament, as the Isle of Wight MP.
On that occasion, Mr Hastings beat Mr Stuart by 261 votes.
The full results of last night’s by-election are:
- 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
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