Local elections: Lib Dem councillor to represent seats 160 miles apart

A Liberal Democrat candidate will now represent two places - 160 miles away from each other.

Chris Twells has won Tetbury with Upton - a Gloucestershire ward which contains the family residence of King Charles III - while he already represents Ordsall in north-west England.

Mr Twells will have to attend a meeting at each council every six months to avoid losing either seat.

Early local elections results have seen the Tories lose seats across England.

Mr Twell's election leaflet for the Cotswold District Council (CDC) seat included a pledge that he could "be trusted to keep in touch and work hard for this area all year round".

Candidates can legally stand in more than one area but they must meet eligibility criteria.

This includes either living or working in the area in the 12 months before being nominated, or being registered as a local government elector for the area.

The Lib Dems, who already had an overall majority on CDC after taking control from the Tories in 2019, gained four seats on the council, while the Tories lost five and the Greens gained one.

The Mayor of Salford, Paul Dennett, described Mr Twells as a "paper candidate in the Cotswolds" and called for him to "do the right thing and resign" from his Ordsall seat.

The mayor and Salford's Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey previously wrote to ministers urging them to close the "bizarre" loophole which allows council candidates to stand for election in multiple areas.

They called for an urgent review of election law and highlighted Mr Twells standing for election in Gloucestershire while already representing Ordsall.

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