Green Party Secures Kent County Council Seat After By-Election
The Green Party has emerged victorious in a Kent County Council by-election, which was necessitated by the imprisonment of the serving councillor.
Daniel Taylor, aged 35, from Margate, received a 12-month prison sentence in February after admitting to controlling or coercive behaviour towards his wife.
Following his election victory in the Cliftonville division for the Reform party during the 2025 local elections, Taylor was suspended by Reform. He subsequently served as an independent councillor until his sentencing.
On Thursday, voters participated in the by-election to choose Taylor's successor, resulting in Green Party candidate Rob Yates obtaining nearly 39% of the vote.
Rob Yates, 39, works in offshore wind farming and currently serves as a member of Thanet District Council.
Of his victory, he said: "This result shows that across Kent and across the country the Greens are the antidote to Reform."
Reactions to the Election Outcome
Mark Hood, leader of Kent County Council's Green Group, described the result as "seismic" for both Kent and the nation.
"Reform lost this seat after less than a year due to their dismal record of failure, chaos and managed decline running Kent County Council," he said.
"The defeat is a major embarrassment for Nigel Farage."
Reform had gained control of Kent County Council in May of the previous year, winning 57 out of 81 seats, but their representation has since decreased to 47 seats.
On the social media platform X, Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaren, representing Reform, expressed gratitude to voters and praised the party's candidate, Marc Rattigan, describing him as "fantastic."
She added that he "could not have done any more or worked any harder."
"Naturally, the result is not what we wanted, but we are proud that we ran a clean and positive campaign throughout," she said.
Additional Information
The detailed results of the by-election were as follows:
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