Labour wins last council seat to be counted

Luke Myer works for the left-leaning political think tank IPPR

A Conservative police and crime commissioner criticised for standing in the local government elections has failed to win in the last ward to declare.

Steve Turner's wife Andrea also narrowly lost her seat on Redcar and Cleveland Council.

Labour's Luke Myer took one of two Longbeck ward seats with veteran councillor Vera Rider, an independent, securing the other.

Posting on Twitter, Mr Myer said he was "delighted to top the ballot" in the election. 

“We came a clear first in every round of counting," he said. 

Mr Myer polled 707 and just four votes separated Mrs Rider and Mrs Turner, previously the council's Conservative group leader.

The narrow margin of 413 to 409 led to an initial recount on Friday and then a third count on Tuesday morning after council returning officer John Sampson declared a “fresh pair of eyes” was required.

The three counts attracted attention on national and social media.

Vera Rider has been on the council for the last six years, having originally been elected as a Conservative

Labour group leader Alec Brown said the party was “over the moon” with the result, which takes its councillors on the local authority to 23.

Mr Turner told the Northern Agenda newsletter the “biggest loser in all of this is democracy as this ward election has been the most vitriolic I’ve ever known”, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The Turners criticised a Labour leaflet urging Conservatives to use their vote carefully, which Mrs Turner described as “deceitful and manipulative”.

Mr Turner was not present at the declaration and Mrs Turner left without making any comment.

He had been criticised for attempting to add the role of councillor to his £80,000-a-year job.

'Unafraid of intimidation'

In a previous Facebook post, he said Cleveland Police had "achieved so much" while he was at the helm and he wanted to "make an even bigger difference" as a councillor.

The couple claimed they could "achieve so much more together" but it has been suggested Mr Turner cost his wife her seat by diluting the Tory vote.

Speaking after the result, Mrs Rider said she had "completely" missed her wedding anniversary because of the recount.

“It has been very stressful,” she said.

She had been “shocked” at some of the electioneering in the ward and said there had been "a lot of nastiness".

Labour's shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry tweeted that Mr Myer had "led the fiery Labour campaign in Longbeck, unafraid of intimidation".

The council remains under no overall control with Labour the largest party.