Lib Dems hold council seat in by-election

The Liberal Democrats have held a council seat in a by-election.

Peter Allen was elected to the North Jesmond seat in Newcastle for the Liberal Democrats, which had been vacated by Gerry Keating earlier in the summer due to ill health.

Allen, who previously served on the council for nine years, secured almost 65% of the vote on Thursday.

The 64-year-old said his priority was cleaning the "pollution out of Ouseburn".

He said something had to happen "quickly" to fix the river.

"The council cannot say it is not their problem, they own the Dene as the major trustee of the Armstrong Trust," he said.

There was a 23.7% turnout for the vote, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Allen served as the councillor for Walkergate between 2003 and 2012 and held the finance portfolio within the Liberal Democrat cabinet when the party ran the city council.

After Thursday’s by-election, the political makeup of the council is now: Labour 45, Lib Dem 23, Independent 4, Newcastle Independents 3, Green 2, Conservative 1.

A by-election also took place in the Bridges Ward in Gateshead on Thursday.

Robert Waugh held the seat for Labour with 320 votes - 65 more than Jonathan Aibi for the Liberal Democrats.

About 17.5% of the electorate turned out.

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