DUDLEY’S Conservatives are celebrating after an emphatic win in the Norton by-election for Colin Elcock.

The party was left reeling after an election night horror show in May which saw them lose control of Dudley Council to Labour.

But they say a strong performance in Norton, where Cllr Elcock held the seat with a majority of 742, shows Labour can’t afford to be complacent.

Cllr Elcock said: “I am delighted, this is a salutary lesson to Labour that they can’t have things all their own way.

“We have given them a lesson and we will give them lessons in the future, we will continue to battle hard to keep Labour accountable in Dudley.”

Tory leader Cllr Les Jones was also pleased with a strong performance by his group, which saw their share of the vote increase by more than three per cent since local elections on May 3.

He said: “People woke up on May 4 and realised the approach they took to local elections had resulted in Labour control.

“People don’t want to see that go any further, this is a great morale boost and a good starting point for elections in two years time. We will come back to take control at the next opportunity.”

Defeated Labour candidate Adnan Rashid vowed to continue working in Norton and rejected claims Labour could never take the safe Tory seat.

He said: “This is only the start for Norton, there is no such thing as an unwinnable ward. Putting in the time will bear fruit, we shall continue to work hard for constituents.”

Despite gloomy predictions that bad weather would keep voters at home, the turnout for the by-election, which was triggered by the death of Cllr Angus Adams in April, was 27.7 per cent.

The full results for the Norton by-election held on Thursday June 21 were Colin Elcock (Conservative) 1,375; Adnan Rashid (Labour) 633; Chris Bramall (Lib Dem) 259; Glen Wilson (UKIP) 229; Benjamin Sweeny (Green) 143 and Kevin Inman (National Front) 47.