Two by-elections for Somerset Council have ended with honours even after the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats both won one seat.

Voters went to the polls in the Blackmoor Vale and Rowbarton and Staplegrove divisions on Thursday (November 21) to elect replacements for Lib Dem councillors Sarah Dyke (who stood down to focus on her work as MP for Glastonbury and Somerton) and Dixie Darch (who stood down to spend more time with her family).

The Lib Dems managed to hold onto the Rowbarton and Staplegrove seat, with winning candidate and Taunton town councillor Nick O’Donnell polling more than twice as many votes as his Tory challenger Pete Prior-Sankey.

READ MORE: Former Taunton Mayor holds Lib Dem seat in by-election | Somerset County Gazette

But the Tories had a better day near the Dorset border, with Hayward Burt, who failed to win the seat at the 2022 local elections, seeing off a challenge from Lib Dem and Wincanton Town Council chairman, Howard Ellard.

Rowbarton and Staplegrove includes a sizeable chunk of northwest Taunton, along with the Staplegrove urban extension which will deliver more than 1,600 new homes in the coming years.

The full result for Rowbarton and Staplegrove is as follows:

  • Nick O’Donnell (Lib Dem) – 817
  • Pete Prior-Sankey (Conservative) – 396
  • Alan Debenham (Green) – 102
  • Moya Doherty (Labour) – 86

The turnout was 18.32 per cent and two ballot papers were rejected.

“I’m feeling absolutely exhilarated, elated and exhausted," O’Donnell said after his victory. “It’s a great endorsement of our LibDem team on Somerset Council safeguarding our environment and looking after our natural heritage, and I’m looking forward to addressing all those issues that my neighbours and fellow residents in Rowbarton and Staplegrove have raised with me.”

Taunton and Wellington MP Gideon Amos added: “As a teacher and a scientist, Nick will bring a lot to Somerset Council – but more than anything this win is a tribute to the work Nick and his fellow town councillors have done investing in our town centre and local parks with more wardens and new equipment.”

Blackmoor Vale result

The Blackmoor Vale division includes numerous villages between Wincanton and the Dorset border, including Henstridge, Milborne Port and Templecombe.

The full result for Blackmore Vale is as follows:

  • Hayward Burt (Conservative) – 1,120
  • Howard Ellard (Lib Dem) – 714
  • Peter Ebsworth (Green) – 86
  • Gregory Chambers (Labour) - 32

The turnout was 26.07% and there were four rejected ballot papers.

Burt previously headed up a Tory HQ unit devoted to defeating the Lib Dems – only to lose to Dyke and fellow Lib Dem Nicola Clark at the 2022 local elections.

Following the results, the Lib Dems maintain their majority on the council with 60 out of 110 seats – with the Tories holding 34, Labour and the Greens both holding five, and the rest held by independent or non-aligned councillors.