St John’s Ward
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard John Spencer | Conservative Party | 901 | 43.48 |
| Alison Insley | Liberal Democrats | 670 | 33.33 |
| Wendy Rosemary Edwards | Green Party | 273 | 13.03 |
| Jane Margaret Green | Labour Party | 203 | 9.79 |
| Wayne Richard Harris | Social Democratic Party (SDP) | 25 | 1.20 |
Electorate 4262 (Turnout 49%)
Ballot Papers Issued 2085 (13 spoilt papers)
LIB-DEMS LOSE SEAT TO TORIES
This ‘casual vacancy’ was caused by the resignation of Liberal Democrat, Jack Worrall, who was elected to the council in 2019.
Enough voters in St. John’s called for an election to fill the vacancy (rather than co-option) and as such, an election had to be held. The poll took place on the same day as the elections for the Warwickshire County Council, as well as the Warwickshire Police & Crime Commissioner.
By-election’s, by their very nature are difficult to call, but people would probably have expected a Liberal Democrat to be re-elected, but it didn’t turn out that way. Tory, Rik Spencer winning by a majority of 231 votes over Liberal Democrat candidate, Alison Insley, who was standing for the first time in a town election – but she would be back.
In the 2019 election, all four seats at St. John’s were taken by the Lib-Dems. But two-years-on, voters were starting to have a change of heart, especially the traditional Tory voters. Many of whom, may well have been shocked by the previous election result, when 13 Tory councillors lost their seats.
Kenilworth Town Councillors (17 seats)
8 Green Party (P. Jones, A. Firth, T. Drew, A. Kennedy, A. Dearing, J. Dearing, P. Austin, P. Barry)
6 Liberal Democrats (K. Dickson, R. Dickson, G. Hyde, S. Cooke, A. Chalmers, A. Milton)
3 Conservative Party (J. Cooke, M. Coker, R. Spencer)