Liberal Democrats gained an extra seat on Cambridgeshire County Council following a by election in Huntingdonshire.
Dr Geoff Seeff won the St Neots (The Eatons county division) topping the poll with 1,042 votes.
Andrew Jennings for the Conservatives was in second place on 746 votes.
In third place was Colin Maslen with 360 votes and Labour’s Taylor Purdon came in 4th place with 250 votes.
Cllr Seef replaces the late Derek Giles whose death prompted the by election. Cllr Giles had won the seat previously as an independent.
A relative newcomer to St Neots, Cllr Seef is a chartered accountant and management consultant whose doctoral research was in the field of corporate social responsibility.
He is a specialist in urban regeneration and has advised on a wide range of projects throughout the UK and overseas on behalf of local authorities, government agencies, aid agencies, pension funds and banks.
Here's a graph of the result in yesterday's St Neots Eatons @CambsCC by-election. A fairly comfortable win for Lib Dem Geoff Seeff. pic.twitter.com/bQxPKPq8BN
— Phil Rodgers (@PhilRodgers) February 17, 2023
A former parliamentary candidate, Cllr Seef is regarded as a seasoned LibDem campaigner and over the years has taken a lead on various national issues such as the need for reform of our electoral and constitutional systems and changes to corporate governance.
St Neots The Eatons (Cambridgeshire) Council By-Election Result:
LDM: 43.5% (New)
CON: 31.1% (-5.3)
IND: 15.0% (New)
LAB: 10.4% (-2.5)No SNI (-42.0) or GRN (-8.6) as previous.
Lib Dem GAIN from Localists.— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) February 16, 2023
A Lin Dem profile of him says: “He has successfully represented local residents on matters such as challenges to the closure of community hospitals and controversial planning application.
“He has organised petitions that have brought about improvements in road safety and the maintenance of parks and their facilities.
https://twitter.com/CRobertson_LD/status/1626326304722124804
“Among his current concerns is the lack of resources available for mental health and, whilst recognising the immense pressures under which the NHS is operating, he believes there is a need for every primary and secondary school in the county to employ a full time psychotherapist/counsellor.”
His predecessor Cllr Giles was first elected to Huntingdonshire District Council in 1991 and served until 2022, with the exception of 2008-2012.
He served eight terms of office as ward councillor for the former St Neots Eaton Socon ward, which became the St Neots Eatons ward.
Mr Giles also served as mayor of St Neots for two terms, as well as spending two years as deputy mayor.
He spent nine years on Cambridgeshire County Council, before retiring as chair of the council in November 2021.
