Potential by-election for Brixworth after district councillor fails to turn up for six months

Councillor Fabienne Fraser-Allen, who was elected in May 2016, officially resigned her seat on June 6. The councillor had held one of the three seats for Brixworth, alongside fellow Conservatives Nick Bunting and Kevin Parker.

It is understood that she has had to resign her position after failing to attend a council meeting within the last six months, last being present in December 2018. Councillor Fraser-Allen had attended only two of the six full council meetings that were held in 2018/19, although prior to that she had attended nine of the 11 full council meetings that had taken place since she was elected.

Elected members receive allowances of more than £4,600 to represent their wards, as well as additional expenses.

Daventry District Council is a predominantly Conservative authority, with 29 of the 35 current councillors having been elected with a blue rosette on. There are five Labour councillors, and a solitary Liberal Democrat.

Potential candidates wishing to stand for the vacancy will have until 4pm on Friday (June 21) to submit their nomination papers.

If the by-election is contested, then the polling day will be held on Thursday July 18 and people living in Brixworth, Cottesbrooke, Creaton, Draughton, Lamport, Maidwell and Scaldwell will be able to vote.

Residents in the ward who are not already registered to vote have until July 2 to do so if the by-election is contested.

Should the election go ahead, residents in those areas will have been the only ones in the Daventry district to vote in 2019, after local elections across the county were postponed by the government.

Elections will instead take place in May 2020 to the shadow unitary authorities, until they formally launch in April 2021.