Lib Dems kickstart fightback by winning Cornish council seat in first post-election test

Liberal Democrat Mathew McCarthy has won a Cornish council seat in Falmouth off Labour in the South West's first electoral test after May's General Election.

Commenting, Stuart Bonar, the Lib Dem candidate in Plymouth's Moor View seat at the General Election, said, "This is an absolutely fantastic result. I visited Falmouth to help Mathew with his campaign, and I saw firsthand just how hard he was campaigning. Many people mentioned that he was the only candidate who'd knocked on their door and spoken to them about their concerns.

"Watching the results of the General Election come through back in May was tough for the Liberal Democrats. We had a bad night. Whilst over 2.4 million people voted Liberal Democrat, that wasn't reflected in seats won in the House of Commons, where we were reduced to just eight MPs. Since then however around 18,000 people have joined the party, which is fantastic. And now Mathew has pulled off this excellent win in Cornwall. The Lib Dem fightback in the South West is well and truly underway.

"I know Mathew will do a superb job of speaking up for everyone be how represents."

Mathew McCarthy, newly-elected Liberal Democrat councillor for Falmouth Penwerris, said, "Penwerris was not natural Lib Dem territory, but I was determined to fight for my community. An awful lot of Lib Dems from across Cornwall and beyond piled in to help, and after a lot of hard work we achieved a truly fantastic result.

"We've shown here in Falmouth that the LIberal Democrats are not going to give up. Both locally and nationally we need Liberalism more than ever, but we need to fight hard to protect it. Penwerris was a good start - if we can win here, with the right campaign we can win anywhere."

The result was: Mathew McCarthy (Liberal Democrat) 353; Labour 221; Independent 120; Mebyon Kernow 71.