Tories denied majority on council by one seat after drawing straws as a tiebreaker
The Lib Dems and Conservatives settled the result in the last key ward by drawing straws
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Conservatives have been denied control of Northumberland council by just one seat – after losing a drawing of straws to decide a tied result in the last ward.
The Tories won 33 of the 67 seats on the local authority, with 34 seats won by other parties.
In the South Blyth ward Liberal Democrat candidate Lesley Rickerby and Conservative Daniel Carr decided to draw straws for the result after three recounts of ballot papers all produced a score-draw.
Ms Rickerby drew the longer straw and became councillor for the council’s South Blyth ward. She was seen to jump for joy and exclaim: “We did it!”
Ballot papers are usually re-counted several times in the event of a tied election, but if a deadlock is still not broken the result is decided by chance.
This commonly takes the form of a coin toss, a drawing of straws, or names being pulled from a hat.
Mr Carr and Ms Rickerby both won 356 votes each. Labour’s Olga Potts came third with 305 votes and Ukip’s Peter Potts came fourth with 216.
Overall on the council Labour won 24 seats, the Conservatives 33, and independents 5. The Lib Dems won 3 and other candidates won 2.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments