Roger Tester has been elected as a Conservative councillor for Mottingham, Coldhabour and New Eltham ward after a closely-contesting by-election campaign in the very south of the borough.
Thursday’s by-election followed the sad passing of long-serving Conservative councillor John Hills. Councillors from across the Council Chamber paid tributes to Councillor Hills quarter-century of service at a Council meeting in May.
Roger Tester, who previously served alongside John and sitting Conservative councillor Matt Hartley as a councillor in the ward from 2018 to 2022, was elected with a 4.7% swing from Greenwich Labour to Greenwich Conservatives.
Roger said: “I am thrilled to have been elected as a councillor for the ward, albeit in these very sad circumstances. John cannot be replaced and we will all miss him terribly. I promise to do my very best to live up to the example that John set, and to work hard every day to get things done for residents.”
Councillor Matt Hartley, Leader of Greenwich Conservatives, said: “We’ve just shown we can beat Labour in Greenwich. People are fed up of the south of the borough being ignored, of continued waste of taxpayers money at the Town Hall, and of the Council not listening to residents’ views on issues like traffic problems and parking charges. I hope the Labour councillors who run our borough will take note of the message that residents sent in this by-election, and change course.”
Read more about the by-election campaign on Greenwich Wire’s coverage of the result.
You can watch Roger’s speech at the by-election Count held at the Town Hall here
