Nigel Dix has won the Caerphilly County Borough Council Blackwood by-election with 545 votes.
Councillor Dix had previously represented the ward before he was voted out in May 2008.
Thursday’s by-election was prompted by the resignation of long-standing Blackwood councillor Kevin Etheridge.
Popular and well-known in the community for his work, Independent councillor Mr Etheridge was first elected in 1999 and stood down in April because of personal reasons.
Mr Etheridge’s father passed away earlier this year and he also has a grandson being treated in Great Ormond Street Hospital.
The ex-councillor, who was widely respected by residents and fellow council members, was also the subject of an investigation by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales into childcare allowance claims he received.
The subsequent report criticised Mr Etheridge for the claims totalling thousands of pounds.
The investigation was prompted by a complaint by Nigel Dix – a move labelled malicious by the ruling Plaid Cymru group.
Results
Nigel Dix, Labour: 545
Claire Caple, Independent: 469
Andrew Farina-Childs, Plaid Cymru: 355
Ian Chivers, Conservative: 170
Funny how Plaid called it malicious, when the ombudsman found that Etheridge had broken the code of conduct, have plaid forgoten that they reported Cllr Ray davies for the same thing.welcome to the crazzy world of Plaid