ROBERT Heseltine, who had to resign as a Craven councillor after being
convicted of 12 charges of falsifying accounts, made a triumphant return
on election night.
Mr Heseltine easily won a three way contest in the Skipton South ward to
return to the council three years after he was forced to resign after
admitting falsifying his accounts while chairman of the Yorkshire Dales
National Park Authority.
Standing as an Independent, he polled 412 votes, more than 200 ahead of
his nearest rival, Frances Cook, another Independent who was defending
her seat.
It was a good night for the Independents, who won two seats from the
Tories. Newsagent Mike Hill took Skipton East from Pam Heseltine while
dry stone waller Robert Mason took West Craven from John Binns.
The Conservatives held on to four seats and the Liberal Democrats
retained the only seat they were defending.
The results mean no political party has overall control of the council.
The Conservatives are the largest single group with 11 seats but the
council is run by an alliance of Independents and Liberal Democrats, who
have 10 and nine seats respectively.
* denotes sitting councillor
BENTHAM
Manuel Camacho (Ind) 490
* Gerald Hurtley (Con) 521
Con Hold
EMBSAY-WITH-EASTBY
* Andy Quinn (Con) 404
Dennis Hall (Ind) 199
Con Hold
GARGRAVE WITH MALHAMDALE
* David Crawford (Con) 596
Andrew Wood (Lib Dem) 422
Con Hold
SKIPTON EAST
*Pamela Heseltine (Con) 320
Mike Hill (Ind) 423
Darren Moorby (Lib Dem) 222
Ind gain from Con
SKIPTON NORTH
Andrew Rankine (Lib Dem) 466
* Marcia Turner (Con) 604
Con Hold
SKIPTON SOUTH
* Frances Cook (Ind) 195
Robert Heseltine (Ind) 412
Ken Crook (Con) 110
Ind hold
SKIPTON WEST
* Polly English (Lib Dem) 473
Paul Whitaker (Con) 233
Lib Dem hold
WEST CRAVEN
* John Binns (Con) 291
Robert Mason (Ind) 301
Ind gain from Con
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article