THE new councillor for Astley and Mosley Common has vowed to ‘listen to the voices of the people’ after her by-election victory on Thursday.

Paula Wakefield won 46 per cent of the vote to maintain Labour’s stranglehold on the ward.

The 37-year-old secured 773 votes, beating her nearest rival Conservative candidate John Stirzaker by 169.

She takes over from Leigh MP Jo Platt, who stepped down as one of Labour’s three representatives for the ward in September.

Mrs Wakefield said: “I promise I will always listen to the voices of the people of Astley and Mosley Common and make sure they are heard in council.

“I will continue to fight for a fair and inclusive society and I will put the people first.

“Throughout this campaign I have knocked on thousands of doors and had hundreds of conversations.

“As a local resident myself with a young family, I understand the concerns of the community, such as housing, traffic, education, the environment and public transport.

“It is a massive honour to be able to represent the people of my ward and their concerns.”

She says she is proud to follow in Miss Platt’s footsteps and paid tribute to Leigh MP who served on the council for five years and her campaign team.

Mrs Wakefield, who joins Cllrs Barry Taylor and Christine Roberts as representatives of the Astley and Mosley Common ward, added: “I know Jo will continue to support the area in her new role as our MP and I would also like to thank her for being an inspirational role model for women.

“I attribute my passion for politics to her.

“Her hard work in the ward and in her role as the portfolio holder for children and young people’s services at Wigan Council has had such a positive impact on so many people.”

UKIP’s Allan Hogg finished third in the by-election with 185 votes.

Liberal Democrats’ Stuart Thomas received 73 votes and the Green Party’s Andy Prentice had 46.

There was a 17.5 per cent turnout for the by-election, with the result announced at Leigh Town Hall at around 11.15pm