Helen Elliott-Boult, the newly elected Green Party councillor, expressed her excitement and gratitude after winning the by-election to represent Thrupp at Ebley Mill on the Stroud District Council. The by-election followed the resignation of Green Party councillor Beki Aldam.
Elliott-Boult secured a commanding victory with 540 votes, outperforming her closest rival, Reform UK’s Michael Rees, who received 132 votes. Other candidates included Conservative Anthony Philip William Pilkington with 58 votes, Labour’s Mick Fealty who earned 46, Liberal Democrat Raffy Chiswick with 22, and UKIP’s Lucian Aeris, who garnered just two votes. Voter turnout stood at 41.3 percent.
“I’m absolutely delighted and eager to begin working as a champion for this vibrant community,” said Cllr Elliott-Boult. She thanked the voters for their trust and praised her dedicated campaign team. She emphasized the significance of her comfortable win, noting it was achieved against five other candidates.
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Remarkably, the Green Party’s vote share in this by-election surpassed the results from both 2021 and 2024 when fewer parties competed for the seat. Elliott-Boult also highlighted how she received more than four times the votes of the Reform UK candidate.
“This outcome, alongside recent Green victories like Hannah Spencer’s win in the Gorton and Denton parliamentary by-election, demonstrates that voters are rejecting divisive politics. Instead, they are embracing a message of hope, inclusivity, and genuine community engagement—the core values of the Green Party,” she added.
Following this election, Stroud District Council now consists of 24 Green councillors, 17 Labour and Co-operative members, six Conservatives, two Liberal Democrats, and two Independents.