Labour wins Aberbargoed and Bargoed ward by-election

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Labour’s Christine Bissex-Foster has won the Aberbargoed and Bargoed council by-election by a single vote.

Ms Bissex-Foster won 354 votes, compared to the 353 votes won by Plaid Cymru’s Joshua McCarthy.

Green Party candidate Mark Thomas finished third with 59 votes.

Ms Bissex-Foster will now serve the Aberbargoed and Bargoed ward on Caerphilly County Borough Council, alongside fellow-Labour councillors Dawn Ingram-Jones and Tudor Davies.

The by-election, which came following the death of Labour councillor Dianne Price, was held on Thursday August 15, alongside a by-election for Bargoed Town Council.

The two candidates elected to fill the two town council vacancies were Ms Bissex-Foster and Mr McCarthy.

Ms Bissex-Foster won 215 votes, while Mr McCarthy had 199 votes.

In third place, and unelected, was Plaid Cymru’s Gill Jones with 179 votes, while Labour’s Michael Roberts earned 176 votes.

Independent candidate Paul Davies had 55 votes.

Labour councillor Jamie Pritchard, who is the council’s deputy leader, said: “We’re happy that Christine has been elected to the council and we’re sure she will work hard for the residents of Aberbargoed and Bargoed.

“We can’t shy away from the very low turnout at this by election, which is worrying. There is a general anti-politics vibe across the country, which all candidates will have had thrown at them.

“Going forward, it is our job to regularly be out on the doorstep to have those challenging conversations with residents and deal with peoples issues the best we can.”