Banbury Ruscote division – election result

A recount of votes from May’s Oxfordshire County Council election vote in the Banbury Ruscote division has established that the result was not correctly declared following an administrative error at the count at Spiceball Leisure Centre on Sunday, May 9.

Jayne Strangwood was declared the winner in Banbury Ruscote division. However this declaration was challenged. As a result the matter was subsequently referred to the High Court in line with long-established national practice in such situations.

In July the High Court gave approval for a recount to take place. This recount established that the result had indeed been incorrectly declared.

Following the recount a Special Case High Court hearing in London on August 11 has been informed that the winning candidate in Banbury Ruscote division should have been declared as Mark Cherry. The High Court has now determined that the previously declared election result was declared in error and that Mark Cherry was duly elected and ought to have been returned as the county councillor for Banbury Ruscote.

Yvonne Rees, Returning Officer of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “I would like to thank everybody who has been involved in this process for their co-operation and patience. Although the potential for an error was discussed on the day of the election count we knew that given the result had been declared we would have go through the correct legal channels to establish whether this was the case.

“We have now gone through each stage of that legal process, conducted a recount and reached a final conclusion. This means that Mark Cherry will be the county councillor for the Banbury Ruscote division.”