Conservative Party councillor Carl Drury wins East Lindsey District Council by-election

A Conservative councillor said he was "overjoyed" with the support he received after being elected to East Lindsey District Council.

Carl Drury was announced as the new member for Croft ward following a by-election late on Thursday (October 24) evening after receiving 198 votes out of the 430 cast.

The election was prompted by the death of former mayor of Skegness Sid Dennis in July. Colleagues remembered him as a hilariously funny comedian and a well-known local businessman.

With a turnout of 22.38%, the full results of the by-election were as follows:

Carl Drury (Conservative) - 198

Mark Crawford Anderson (Labour) - 5

Paul Collins (Independent) - 48

Adrian Findley (Skegness Urban District Society) - 79

Phil Gaskell (Green) - 21

David Brian Tucker (Liberal Democrat) - 75

Spoilt ballots - 4

Still reeling from the count, newly elected Councillor Drury was pleasantly surprised by the result and glad the Conservative Party was able to hold onto the seat.

"I thought the Liberal Democrats and Skegness Urban District Society were going to close the votes quite a lot more than they did," he said.

Councillor Drury explained that he had known the previous ward councillor for some time and highlighted the significant role he has to fill.

"It is a big role to fill because he was such a big character and was so well known, but hopefully I can fill his shoes."

Looking ahead, he hopes to tackle what he describes as one of the biggest issues for Croft—flooding.

Councillor Drury believes that more collaborative efforts are needed between parties to address the ongoing problem and stressed the importance of involving the public every step of the way.

He added: "There's too much of a gap at the moment between the council, the Environment Agency and the public so it’s making it a bit difficult to get anything done."

As someone who played a part in the revival of Wainfleet Weekend, which included live music, football, and great food, the newly elected Conservative hopes to bring more events to Croft. He believes these could help uplift the community.

He also outlined his opposition to the planned pylon scheme from National Grid, which aims to install a route of pylons through the Lincolnshire countryside. He simply stated: "Nobody wants the pylons."