Conservative’s re-select Keith Girling as candidate for Newark West division of Nottinghamshire County Council in upcoming by-election

An experienced former Conservative councillor has said he will fight to reclaim his old council seat in an upcoming by-election just one week after losing it.

Today, Keith Girling announced that he would be standing as the Conservative candidate in the Newark West Division by-election on Nottinghamshire County Council, which was triggered following the surprise resignation of Reform councillor Desmond Clarke.

Mr Clarke who had only been in the position for a matter of days after defeating Mr Girling in the May 1 local elections.

Yesterday afternoon, the Advertiser broke the news of Mr Clarke’s resignation, and that the decision to step down had been taken due to difficulty in balancing his day job in social care, with his new responsibilities as a councilor.

Now, Keith Girling, who had been a county councillor for around 20 years, has confirmed that he will be throwing his hat back into the ring in an attempt to reclaim his old seat.

He added that is was the support of resident’s, who had thanked him for his years of service following his election defeat, that had convinced him to stand again.

He has now been officially re-selected by the Local Conservatives as the candidate for Newark West.

Speaking with the Advertiser, Mr Girling, said he was honoured that his party had “put their faith” in him, and was “fully committed” to fighting for re-election.

He paid tribute to Mr Clarke and his courage in making the decision to step down, but was surprised that the council was faced with such a situation so soon.

“I’ve never known [someone to resign so soon] before,” he said.

“This is no reflection on Des, he’s a decent bloke. I put this squarely on Reform.

“They convinced people to stand without really explaining what the job involved.

“[Nottinghamshire County Council] is a billion pound turnover organisation, and requires a lot of hard work.

“People see the photographs, but what they don’t see is all the hard work that goes on behind everything and all the casework that councillors deal with.

“So people end up entering into it without any idea of what it really involves.”

He added his belief that the role of a councillor was to be “a representative for residents” whether they agree politically or not.

Reform won 40 of Nottinghamshire County Council’s 66 divisions during last week’s election, handing them an overall majority. The result of a by-election in Newark West will not affect the balance of power.

Mr Girling also spoke about the value of experience and the responsibility that the Conservative group now had as the official opposition to a Reform-led county council.

He said: “When I first became a councillor, I didn’t really know what to expect — but I had been briefed by my party, I joined a group of experienced councillors, and had support around me straight away.

“I think a lot of [the new Reform councillors] will be quite shocked about what is involved — the county council isn’t about national issues, it’s about local issues and local services, which need to be taken very seriously.

“[If re-elected] our role [as the opposition] will be to hold them to account and scrutinise their decisions.

“A strong opposition is very important, so that when a decision is made the people can be sure that is has been properly thought through — if they make a bad decision then it is only right and proper that we highlight that.”

Desmond Clarke had won the Newark West division with 909 votes, defeating sitting Conservative councillor Keith Girling who placed second with 756 votes.