Labour capture Birkdale for first time while Lib Dems lose 4 Southport seats

Labour have secured a Sefton Council seat in Birkdale for the first time in history while the Liberal Democrat vote collapsed in Southport, with the party losing four seats across the town.

Votes have now been counted and declared in the 2021 local elections for Sefton Council, with Sefton’s Labour group bucking the trend in a difficult day for the national party.

Elsewhere the Conservatives gained two seats in Southport, their total gains across the entire Council. The Conservatives also won the totalled popular vote across the 7 Southport wards.

Sinclair d’Albuquerque unseated Liberal Democrat Pat Keith in Cambridge ward by 211 votes, while Michael Prendergast scored a comprehensive victory in Dukes ward, with the Liberal Democrats divided by the expulsion and independent candidacy of Tony Dawson.

Sonya Kelly’s victory for Labour in Birkdale was only confirmed after a recount, which resulted in a win by just 26 votes over Conservative Lee Durkin. Lib Dem Vic Foulds was beaten into third place, a further 93 votes behind.

The result is a stunning victory for Labour given they have never held a seat in the ward.

The entirety of the Conservative’s gains and the Liberal Democrat’s losses occurred in the seven Southport wards. Elsewhere in Sefton, Labour took 3 wards from independent seats giving them five gains across the Council in total.

Liberal Democrats managed to hold Ainsdale and Meols with Lynne Thompson and John Dodd, but that will be small comfort against losing 4 seats in Southport.

Local Conservative officials told OTS News this morning they had aimed to run a “local, positive” campaign. While Liberal Democrat disarray had meant the election of Michael Prendergast in Dukes was almost a certainty, the Conservatives will be particularly pleased with their efforts in Cambridge.

Collectively the entire result means that Labour not only hold the Council but strengthen their grip on the local authority.

Southport Labour Chair, Cllr Mhairi Doyle, commented: “Today was a fantastic set of results for Southport Labour and we are delighted to have once again proved that Labour can and does win here. Today we held our seat in Norwood and also made gains in Kew and in Birkdale, which has traditionally been such a Lib Dem stronghold but this time they came third.”

“We now have taken seven council seats from the Lib Dems in three years. Coupled with the fact that in the last general election they received the worst vote for a Liberal candidate of any type since 1900, while we received yet another record vote – this shows a seismic shift locally.”

“Local people know that we are now the only viable alternative to the Conservatives in Southport and that our councillors work really hard for our residents, we intend to keep doing so and thank everyone who voted for us.”