Local elections: Councillor who won second seat 150 miles away quits

A Liberal Democrat councillor who was set to represent two places - more than 150 miles away from each other - is expected to resign from one.

Chris Twells won Tetbury with Upton in Gloucestershire despite already representing Ordsall in north-west England.

Following his Cotswold District Council victory, Mr Twells said he would begin the process of resigning from Ordsall.

It comes after his candidacy sparked controversy in both areas.

Candidates can legally stand in more than one area but they must meet eligibility criteria.

This includes either living or working in the area in the 12 months before being nominated, or being registered as a local government elector for the area.

Speaking after the count, Mr Twells said he was delighted to have been elected to represent Tetbury with Upton.

He said: "I would like to thank everybody who voted for me.

"I will be taking some time off over the weekend and speaking to the chief executive of Salford City Council to establish what action I need to take to resign as a councillor, to allow for a by-election to be held in my ward."

The Lib Dems, who already had an overall majority on Cotswold District Council after taking control from the Tories in 2019, gained four seats on the council, while the Tories lost five and the Greens gained one.

The Mayor of Salford, Paul Dennett, had described Mr Twells as a "paper candidate in the Cotswolds" and had called for him to "do the right thing and resign" from his Ordsall seat.

The mayor and Salford's Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey previously wrote to ministers urging them to close the "bizarre" loophole which allows council candidates to stand for election in multiple areas.

A Lib Dem spokesperson said: "We are aware a complaint has been made regarding this particular case, which will be considered by the party's independent complaints process."

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