Victorious Tory calls for end to party in-fighting

Ballot papers being checked at Northallerton Civic Centre Picture: LDRS

An egg farmer who secured victory for the Conservatives in a by-election over the Prime Minister’s local ward has called for an end to in-fighting in the party.

Calling for decisive action to be taken against Tory party members causing disharmony, David Hugill said winning the North Yorkshire Council division of Hutton Rudby and Osmotherley, a traditional Conservative area, had been the result of hard work canvassing by party activists.

The result, which appeared to come as a huge relief to party members attending the count at Northallerton Civic Centre, means the decades-long Conservative control of County Hall, with half of the 90 elected members, is re-established, particularly following a recent agreement with three Independent councillors.

Mr Hugill had been a Tory councillor for part of the division for many years, but lost out in a party selection to fellow Conservative Hambleton District councillor Bridget Fortune ahead of the May 2022 election, which saw him lose by 249 votes to Mrs Fortune.

The by-election was triggered through the resignation of Coun Fortune, amid allegations over her treatment by some members of the party.

Senior council officers are still considering a complaint over an incident in the council chamber in May, in which Lower Wensleydale councillor and Conservative whip Tom Jones was said to have tried to prevent Coun Fortune from voting.

Leading North Yorkshire Conservatives, including North Yorkshire Council leader Councillor Carl Les and the party’s mayoral candidate Councillor Keane Duncan warmly congratulated Mr Hugill on his victory after the late-night count at Northallerton Civic Centre.

While Coun Hugill received 48 per cent of the vote, Liberal Democrat Duncan Ross Russell, a former army major, saw his share of the vote swell from 24 per cent 17 months ago to 38 per cent.

Allan Mortimer, of the Green Party, which was contesting the division for the first time, received 12 per cent of the votes and Yorkshire Party candidate Lee Derrick got about one per cent of the votes in the by-election which 39 per cent of the 5,077 electorate turned out.

In his acceptance speech, Coun Hugill said although the by-election had been hard fought some polling stations had seen few voters. He said late in the afternoon the polling station in Kirby Sigston, close to Rishi Sunak’s constituency home, had seen just 18 people.

He said: “It has been dominated by so-called Tory in-fighting and I think it’s time to call on the innkeepers of that place to do what all good innkeepers do – that is to get rid of the people who are doing the fighting.

“We’ve put in the hard yards in on this one and it’s great to get that result. Rest assured, we have somebody now in place who will do the job and keep fighting for Hutton Rudby and Osmotherley.”

After the vote Mr Mortimer, a parish councillor, said many voters had been concerned about “getting the roads fixed and public services”, and that he would work with Coun Hugill to improve the situation for residents.

Mr Ross Russell said: “The Liberal Democrats got a good head start and made the Conservatives that they would have to fight for this. They have come out fighting in the last couple of weeks, but I suspect it is the long-term tribal approach to Conservatism that has won them the vote.”

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