LONDON – A Liberal Democrat won the last seat in the Northumberland council election and denied a Conservative majority at the council by picking a straw.
In a rare moment in British politics where the number of ballots for the final seat were tied for two parties – in this case it would take 34 to gain a majority – the Lib Dem candidate Lesley Rickerby and Conservative candidate Tory Daniel Carr had to pick a straw for the South Blyth seat. This was after two recounts. The shortest straw lost.
Here is the moment captured on video by the BBC political reporter Fergus Hewison:
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Northumberland council election. Last seat decided with a straw draw! Really. lib Dem win denies Conservatives majority. #LocalElection pic.twitter.com/LzfNLiiKiB
— Fergus Hewison (@BBCFHewison) May 5, 2017
The Conservatives were left with 33 seats of the 67 seats available. Labour won 24, the Lib Dems three and the Independents had seven.
Despite the Tories not getting majority control of the council, the Conservatives snapped up an additional 12 seats while Labour lost eight seats.
Results are currently rolling in for the 2017 local and mayoral elections with announcements being made in England, Scotland, and Wales throughout throughout Friday.
We are expecting results in 4,851 council seats plus six regional mayoral contests.
Currently, Conservatives are on +163 seats while Labour is on -127 as of 10 a.m. BST.
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