Labour narrowly failed to take our two Craven target seats on the new North Yorkshire County Council in the May 5 poll.

Peter Madeley and Independent Andy Solloway actually polled the same number of votes (503 each) in Skipton West and West Craven, and after three recounts produced the same result, lots were drawn, as is required under electoral law, and the council seat went to the Independent.

In Skipton East and South, Labour’s Brian McDaid was just 20 votes short of Independent Robert Heseltine with 620 votes compared with the winner’s 640. The Tories’ Laura Midwinter was a distant third on 347. The Lib Dems polled just 134.

In North Yorkshire overall, Labour won 12 seats. The Tories now hold a narrow majority of four on the 90 seat council, which will assume full responsibility for local services from May 2023. In the meantime the new councillors will be working alongside the existing county council and district councils before the completion of the transition next year.

Under the new structure of local government in North Yorkshire, town and parish councils will be expected to take on a greater role, and in Skipton, one of the few areas where town councillors stand under party emblems, Labour will now have four councillors – Peter Madeley and Brian McDaid, were elected unopposed in Skipton West and Aidan Higgins and Lewis Morgan won their seats in Skipton South.

Thanks to all those members who worked during the election campaign and thanks to our candidates in all the county council divisions in Craven – Chris Thorp in Glusburn Crosshills and Sutton in Craven, Chris Rose in Wharfedale, Aidan Higgins in Settle and Penyghent and Lewis Morgan in Bentham and Ingleton.

The full county council election results can be found here

https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/county-council-election-results