Labour will be staying in control of St Helier after Jerome Neil won the by-election with over 70 per cent of the vote.

The election, which was held yesterday, Thursday, May 19, was called following the death of long serving Labour councillor Maxi Martin who passed away last month.

Councillor Neil thanked his supporters after his win was confirmed, writing on Twitter: “This victory belongs every bit as much to the people that helped along the way as it does to me. Thank you so much.”

Cllr Neil received 71 per cent of the 2,023 votes cast, with 1,436 residents in St Helier voting for him to become their next councillor.

Conservative candidate Susan Edwards came second in the by-election, receiving 14 per cent of the vote (282 votes), and UKIP’s Richard Hilton came in third with nine per cent after receiving 191 votes. 

Asif Ashraf of the London Liberal Democrats and Charles Barraball of the Green Party both received three per cent of the vote, getting 59 and 55 votes respectively.