Greens win by-election to replace jailed councillor

The Green Party has won a Kent County Council by-election, which was called after the serving councillor was jailed.

Daniel Taylor, 35, from Margate, was given a 12-month prison sentence in February after he admitted to behaving in a controlling or coercive way towards his wife.

Reform suspended the councillor shortly after he won the Cliftonville division for the party at the local elections in 2025. He sat as an independent until his sentencing.

Voters cast their ballots on Thursday to select Taylor's replacement, giving the Greens' Rob Yates nearly 39% of the vote.

Yates, 39, is an offshore wind farmer and represented Labour on Thanet District Council until September 2025, when he defected to the Greens.

Of his victory, he said: "This result shows that across Kent and across the country the Greens are the antidote to Reform."

Kent County Council's Green Group leader, Mark Hood, said the result was "seismic" for Kent and for the country.

"Reform lost this seat after less than a year due to their dismal record of failure, chaos and managed decline running Kent County Council," he said.

"The defeat is a major embarrassment for Nigel Farage."

Reform won control of Kent County Council in May last year, securing 57 out of 81 seats, but is now down to 47.

Posting on X, Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaren, of Reform, thanked those who voted and described party candidate Marc Rattigan as "fantastic".

She said that he "could not have done any more or worked any harder".

"Naturally, the result is not what we wanted, but we are proud that we ran a clean and positive campaign throughout," added Kemkaren.

The full results are as follows:

• Rob Yates, The Green Party (38.8%)
• Marc Rattigan, Reform UK (33.1%)
• Charlie Leys, Conservative (15.2%)
• Joanne Bright, Labour (10.4%)
• Lucy Gray, Independent (1.3%)
• Mo Shafaei, Liberal Democrats (1.2%)

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