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# District councillor who switched from Tories to Reform UK fails to win county council seat in by-election
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/district-councillor-who-switched-from-tories-to-reform-uk-fails-to-win-county-council-seat-in-by-election/
- Published: 2023-03-07T10:17:18.000Z
- Updated: 2023-03-07T10:18:25.000Z
- Description: A Lichfield councillor’s bid to win a seat on Staffordshire County Council was dashed after he received just 110 votes in a by-election
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Fazeley, Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 19:07, News

A Lichfield councillor’s bid to win a seat on Staffordshire County Council was dashed after he received just 110 votes in a by-election

Cllr Barry Gwilt represented Reform UK after defecting from the Conservatives recently.

But his hopes of taking a county council seat to go along with his current one at Lichfield District Council were dashed after defeat in the Watling South by-election.

Voters instead opted to hand the seat to his former party, with Alex Farrell collecting 858 votes. Labour’s Carol Dean was second with 714.

The Liberal Democrats’ Helen Miller-Viney received 160 votes, while Cllr Gwilt – who represents the Fazeley ward at Lichfield District Council, brought up the rear with 110.