THE Liberal Democrats comfortably won yesterday’s Winchester City Council by-election in the Oliver’s Battery and Badger Farm ward.
Brian Laming polled 894 votes, an overall majority over the Tory candidate Leanne Wheeler who polled 604 votes and Labour's Hum Qureshi with 162.
The poll was caused by the death of David Spender last autumn.
It means the Lib Dems now have 27 councillors and the Conservatives 27, including Alexis Fall, a recent defector from the Lib Dems.
There are three Independents including former Lib Dem Adrian Hicks.
Yesterday’s poll saw a 3.8 per cent swing from the Lib Dems to the Tories compared to voting in May last year.
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