Labour lose seat to the Lib Dems in council by-election

RULING GROUP ON BACK FOOT AFTER MOSELEY CONTEST

- ALEXANDER BROCK

BIRMINGHAM Labour have lost a council seat following a by-election battle in Moseley.

An election was triggered after Cllr Kerry Jenkins, who represented Labour in Moseley, died in July following a short illness.

The vote was held on Thursday with the bins strike, the council's financial crisis and fears over Reform's "divisive" politics being among the major talking points in the buildup.

Candidate Philip Mills will now be the second Liberal Democrat councillor in Moseley after he ended up winning the by-election with 1,634 votes

Labour's Stephen Pihlaja came in second with 1,149 votes and third place went to independent Carol Williams, who received 923 votes.

Following the results, the Liberal Democrats argued that "extremes on both right and left" had failed to convince candidates.