LABOUR has held a county council seat following an ill-tempered by-election fight.

Damian Haywood won the Iffley Fields and St Mary's division in Oxford last night. His predecessor Helen Evans resigned in August.

He won 1,162 votes, followed by the Green Party’s David Williams, who won 1,087 votes.

Labour held on despite calls from the Liberal Democrats for its supporters to back Mr Williams, who had previously held the seat before losing it in May 2017.

The Conservative Party’s Paul Sims was third, with 100 votes, and the Liberal Democrats’ Josie Procter won 43 votes.

The county council by-election was the first of three before the end of the year.

The next will take place for the Grove and Wantage division on November 15. That was triggered by the resignation of the former chairman of the county council and Lib Dem member, Zoe Patrick.

The second will be held for the Wheatley division on November 29. That has also been triggered by a former Lib Dem councillor’s resignation. Kirsten Johnson has been selected to fight the North Devon parliamentary seat and has moved to the constituency.

A city council by-election will be held in Wolvercote following the recent death of Lib Dem councillor Angie Goff. No date has been confirmed for that but it will be held in December.