Burnley by-election on way after Kirk post councillor quits

The starting gun has been fired for what is set to be a hotly-contested local authority by-election following the resignation of a councillor over a social media post describing the assassination of American right-wing figure Charlie Kirk as being ‘good riddance’.

Burnley’s Cllr Fiona Wild quit on Thursday after her since deleted remarks on Facebook about the death of the 31-year-old father of two shot dead during a political debate at Utah Valley University.

Now the authority has published the notice of a casual vacancy in her Lanehead ward – the first step in holding a new poll to replace the Independent representative who was originally elected for Labour in 2023 with a majority of 307.

In 2024 Andy Waddington was elected for Labour by just three votes from the Burnley Independent Group’s Asif Raja.

The seat will be a target for Reform UK when the election takes place and its sole Burnley councillor, Hapton with Park ward’s Cllr Alan Hosker has confirmed it will field a candidate.

In May’s Lancashire County Council elections the party won three of the five divisions in the borough.

Green Party leader Cllr Jack Launer has confirmed it will stand a candidate in the by-election.

A Burnley Council spokesman said: “We’ve published our notice of the vacancy.

“Requests to hold a by-election to fill a casual vacancy (in this case caused by resignation) must be made in writing by two local government electors from within the local authority.

“Once requests to hold an election have been received, the council must set the date for polling day for the by-election within 35 working days of the date of receipt of the requests.

“We’ll be confirming the timetable as soon as we can.”

Burnley Council’s Conservative group leader Cllr Jamie McGowan – who called for Cllr Wild’s resignation said: “We will be putting a decent candidate up.”

The authority’s Labour opposition leader Cllr Mark Townsend said the party would decide on whether to stand in the coming few days.

Former Liberal Democrat MP Cllr Gordon Birtwistle said: “We are in negotiation with our partners the Burnley Independent Group about whether to stand a single joint candidate rather than split the vote and let another party in.”

Meanwhile Hyndburn Labour MP Sarah Smith has posted on Facebook: “My thoughts and prayers are with the family of Charlie Kirk, who was tragically killed in Utah.

“However much we may disagree with one another, arguments must be resolved through the channels of speech and debate that democracy provides.

“Political violence is corrosive and must be condemned, wherever it occurs and whoever commits it.”