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Labour now hold half of Walsall Council after by-election

Labour now hold half the seats on Walsall Council after winning the Birchills-Leamore by-election.

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Chris Jones was elected to represent the ward, boosting the party's number to 30, following the vote last night.

The by-election was held following the death of former Labour group leader Tim Oliver soon after the May local elections.

Mr Jones received 1,075 votes, Conservative candidate Gazanfer Ali was second with 710, UKIP's Paul White got 445 votes and Chris Newey of the English Democrats received 20. The overall turnout was 22.4 per cent.

It promises to be an interesting few weeks for Walsall Council which is currently lead by Tory leader Mike Bird.

He retained power after a previous council vote when Labour, which was down to 29 seats after the death of Councillor Oliver just days after the election, were unable to force home its bid to take control after 14 years in opposition.

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