LIBERAL Democrats are celebrating after gaining a number of borough and town council seats across Lancashire in local by-elections.

In the Ribble Valley Council by-election for the Primrose ward in Clitheroe on Thursday,  Lib Dem Kerry Elizabeth Fletcher was elected with 200 votes.

She was followed by Conservative candidate Katei Blezard with 119 votes, Labour’s Michael St John Graveston with 109 votes and Green Party candidate Malcolm Charles Peplow, who gained 28 votes.

Meanwhile in the Clitheroe Town Council by-election held on the same day for the Primrose ward,  Kerry Elizabeth Fletcher was elected to the town council with 203 votes.

The Conservative, Labour and Green candidates, as named previously, received 118, 106 and 30 votes respectively. The turnout of voters in the ward was 17.6 per cent.

In the other Ribble Valley Council by-election for Clitheroe’s Littlemoor ward,  Lib Dem Gaynor Patricia Hibbet was elected with 281 votes.

She was followed by Conservative Jimmy Newhouse on 216 votes, Labour’s Mandy Pollard on 59 votes and Green Party candidate Anne Elizabeth Peplow, who received 17 votes.

In the Clitheroe Town Council by-election for Littlemoor, Lib Dem Gaynor Patricia Hibbet was also elected as a town councillor with 280 votes. The Conservative, Labour and Green candidates, as listed previously for Littlemoor, received 211,  58 and 21 votes respectively. The turnout was 21.8 per cent.

Two by-elections were also held in Morecambe, where the Lib Dems had two wins for seats on Morecambe Town Council.

The Bare South East ward was won by Lib Dem Gerald Blaikie and Harbour Ward was won by Lib Dem candidate Catherine Pilling.

In the results for Bare South East, Gerald Michael Blaikie of the Lib Dems gained 178 votes and Geoff Knight, of Morecambe Bay Independents, received 133 votes. Turnout there was 24.3 per cent.

For the Harbour ward, Lib Dem Catherine Pilling received 443 votes, Labour’s Joanne Lindsey Ainscough had 208 votes and Rosemary Abram of the Morecambe Bay Independents gained 118 votes. Turnout was 13.9 per cent.

Morecambe Lib Dems said the results mean that they now have four councillors on Morecambe Town Council, including Paul Hart who won a by-election in May this year and Jim Pilling, who has been a councillor for the Lune ward since 2017.

Gerry Blaikie said: “I am delighted to represent the people of Bare South East and look forward to joining the rest of the team on the council and working together for the benefit of Morecambe and its residents.”

Catherine Pilling, described as Harbour Ward’s first-ever Lib Dem councillor, added: “I am delighted that our campaign was so successful and well-worth all the hard work. The residents of the ward seem to appreciate our contact and were happy to tell us the issues that were important to them. The team will certainly be following the local Lib Dem tradition of working all year round.”

Local Lib Dem chairman Peter Jackson said: “We are deeply thankful to the voters who put their trust in us. This is a huge swing away from Labour and the Morecambe Bay Independents.”