Tory draws the short straw in bizarre election boost for Lib Dems

After years of working to win control of Northumberland county council, Tory group leader Peter Jackson was within an inch of power on Friday, after a long night of ballot paper counting. But then he drew the short straw.

Repeated ballot counts showed that Labour and the Liberal Democrats had been routed by the Conservatives, and after 40 years as the council’s political underdog, the Tories were just one seat away from securing outright control of England’s most northern council.

But the last spot on the 67-seat council — South Beach Blyth — refused to yield a result, with three recounts putting the Tory and Lib Dem candidates tied for first place, with 356 votes each.

So in an extraordinary scene at Hexham’s Wentworth Sports Centre, county returning officer Geoff Paul cut a straw in two to settle the matter. Mr Jackson — standing in for the South Beach Tory candidate, who had already left — drew one part of the straw. Lesley Rickerby, the Lib Dem candidate, drew the other. The result is history.

Mr Jackson, whose Tory group has said it plans to form a minority administration on the country council, nevertheless remained upbeat about the outcome.

“I just never thought we would draw straws for the control of Northumberland county council ever in my wildest dreams,” he said, adding that while he would have preferred outright victory, “we can live with this result for the next four years”.

Northumberland has resorted to straw-drawing before, in a local contest in 2013. Other permitted tiebreaking methods include tossing a coin or putting two ballot papers, marked for each of the candidates, in a box and drawing one.