Fife’s first ballot since last year’s Scottish independence referendum was won by the SNP’s Marie Penman late on Thursday night with a majority of 372 votes.
The by-election was called following the resignation of former SNP councillor Arthur Morrison in October.The contest had been tipped as a two-horse race between the SNP and Labour Party.
Speaking to The Courier minutes after the result was declared in Kirkcaldy Town House, Mrs Penman, 47, who is a lecturer at Fife College, said she was “surprised” at the result and promised to be a “visible” councillor.
She said: “My husband is a maths teacher and he was counting the papers. He’s normally good at that sort of thing, but he thought I’d lost it.
“The low turnout was a worry.The turnout in Smeaton, forexample, where I’m from, was one in five and we thought we’d need to win bigthere.”Bargeton blog: Labour’s problems clear to see thanks to ‘invisible’ councillorDespite having played such a prominent role in the Kirkcaldy Yes campaign before the referendum, Mrs Penman said shewas “not that interested in politicalparties”.
She added: “I want to represent people who feel they are not that well represented at the moment.
“I’ve been speaking to people in council estates who feel ignored, disenfranchised, neglected, and I feel these people have a right to be heard.
“If their pavements don’t get fixed yet all this money is being spent on the towncentre, I want to help these people.
“That’s what it’s all about for me.Standing up for people who get treated like nothing. I feel strongly about that.”
Mrs Penman said this was not an individual victory but a “huge team effort”.
The runner-up in the Fife CouncilKirkcaldy East by-election was Labour’s Liz Easton with 1,088 votes.
The other results in the poll, which was declared at midnight, were Edgar Cook (Conservative) 223 votes; Clare Reid (Green Party) 126 votes; Peter Adams (Ukip) 117 votes; Calum Leslie (Lib Dem) 40 votes; Ronald Hunter (independent) 19 votes; and Alastair Macintyre (independent) 12 votes.
The turnout for the ward with anelectorate of 10,924 was 27.27%. This compared with a turnout of 34.570% in the ward at the Fife Council election of 2012.
Tension mounting as midnight approaches @FifeCouncil Kirkcaldy East by election #kdyeastbyelection pic.twitter.com/fYqPztVA09
— Michael Alexander (@C_MAlexander) January 22, 2015
Labour leader seen shaking head in direction of supporters. Speculation in hall of Labour defeat? #kdyeastbyelection
— Michael Alexander (@C_MAlexander) January 22, 2015
SNP Marie Penman wins!#kdyeastbyelection
— Michael Alexander (@C_MAlexander) January 22, 2015
Here's the break down of the vote #kdyeastbyelection @PeterSwindon @fifecouncil Kirkcaldy East by election pic.twitter.com/foZXqpNiTU
— Michael Alexander (@C_MAlexander) January 23, 2015
Kirkcaldy East (Fife) result:
SNP – 47.3% (+15.9)
LAB – 35.3% (-11.8)
CON – 7.2% (-2.3)
GRN – 4.1% (+4.1)
UKIP – 3.8% (+3.8)
(Others) – 2.3%— Britain Elects (@britainelects) January 23, 2015