FORMER Stroud MP David Drew made a dramatic return to the political arena yesterday by seizing a county election seat from the Greens.

Labour's Mr Drew won Stroud Central - a Green stronghold held by the party for 12 years - in the Shire Hall count.

He beat Green political adversary Molly Scott Cato - who stood for the ward after incumbent Eva Ward stepped down - by a comfortable majority of nearly 600 votes.

Ms Scott Cato - a former MEP - stood in the 2019 general election against Mr Drew in a hotly contested battle which saw Conservative Siobhan Baillie take Stroud from Labour.

There were calls for the Greens to step down with fears that fielding such a strong candidate would split the left vote.

Mr Drew is now one of just five Labour members on Gloucestershire County Council, which remains in Conservative control.

Last night he took to Twitter to thank everyone who voted for him saying: "It’s been a long, long count day, but I’m thankful to the people of Stroud for renewing their faith in me.

"My genuine commiserations to my opponents, but I am grateful and relieved to be able to get back into the fray.

"I look forward to serving this great community again."

Ms Scott Cato said she was 'heartbroken' by the defeat but gave Mr Drew her best wishes in a tweet.

The Labour win came after a disastrous set of results across the country for Keir Starmer's party, which is promising a major policy review.

The full results for Stroud Central were:

David Drew (Labour) - 2,265

Molly Scott Cato (Green) - 1,668

Anthony Blackburn (Conservative) - 1,019

Arthur Edwards (Freedom Alliance. No Lockdowns. No Curfews) - 118

George James (Liberal Democrats) - 90

Despite his success in the county election, Mr Drew failed to win in the district count.

He failed to be elected to Stroud District Council as Conservative Haydn Sutton was instead re-elected in the Stroud Farmhill and Paganhill ward.