An independent candidate won the Carnoustie and District by-election this morning.
David Cheape was announced as a new Angus councillor by the council’s chief executive Richard Stiff following a count at Angus House.
The Carnoustie & District by-election followed the death of Angus Provost and Carnoustie councillor Helen Oswald in October.
There were four other candidates competing for the seat – Mark McDonald (SNP), Elizabeth Morrison (Scottish Liberal Democrats), Derek Shaw (Scottish Conservatives) and Raymond Strachan (Scottish Labour).
There were 3,246 votes cast, representing a turnout of 30.2%.
Mr Cheape won 1,401 first preference votes compared with 1,033 for Mr McDonald (SNP), 568 for Mr Shaw (Conservatives), 141 for Mr Strachan (Labour) and 75 for Ms Morrison (Liberal Democrats).
When a majority isn’t gained in the first preference vote, the second choices of the candidates with the fewest votes are redistributed.
Mr Cheape won the seat on the fourth round of counting.
The announcement means that the SNP hold 14 of the 29 council seats. There are nine independent councillors, four Conservatives and one Labour and one Liberal Democrat.
Ahead of yesterday’s polls, Mr Cheape, a Carnoustie-born accountant, said he would use his professional knowledge to ensure proper planning and investment.
He started his victory speech by paying tribute to the work of the late Helen Oswald.
He added: “Going forward we need to deliver services efficiently and fairly.
“The good of Angus as a whole must be the watch word.
“In representing Carnoustie and its surrounding communities, I will work tirelessly to best represent their interests.”
