History made in Burnley as first Green Party councillor elected

Andy polled 789 votes in the Trinity ward, ousting long serving Labour councillor Howard Baker who is also the current Mayor.

And while he was thrilled with his victory, Andy praised Coun, Baker for all the hard work he had done while serving the people of the ward.

He also praised his "back room" team and many supporters who had helped him claim this historic victory.

Andy said: "I would like to thank members of my team who have helped me every step of the way.

"Without their support I couldn't have achieved this.

"It feels overwhelming but fantastic to be the first Green Party councillor for Burnley and also the first for East Lancashire I believe."

Andy first stood for election in 2014 and he credited his victory as a "community collaboration" with people in Burnley becoming more aware of conservation issues.

He said: "Thanks to the high profile campaign to eradicate plastic and also programmes like David Attenborough's Blue Planet the Green Party is making some real breakthroughs."

The Green Party fielded candidates in all of the 15 wards, including Gannow where Andy's husband, Jai Redman stood, and although none of them had the same volume of votes as Andy, he said it showed that the party was making great steps forward.

Andy's success could be be credited to the fact he has been active in his ward on social media and also in person.

And he vowed the issues he will be concentrating on are litter, fly tipping, potholes and empty houses.

He said: "These are the major issues in the Trinity ward that I have been campaigning about and will continue to do so now I am elected."