A new face will be joining the Isle of Wight Council, after a by-election last night (Thursday), put a 'newbie' in the post.

Wootton Bridge was voting to replace the disgraced former councillor, Daryll Pitcher, who resigned three months after he was jailed for historic child sex abuse offences.

Sarah Redrup secured nearly half of the votes yesterday, putting a Liberal Democrat back in a seat the party had not held in 25 years.

Self-confessed 'newbie' to local politics, Sarah has been successful in securing the group its second by-election win on the Isle of Wight Council in nine months.

Read more: Isle of Wight Council Wootton by-election winner declared

Now with another seat under its belt, how will the win for the Liberal Democrats affect the standings at County Hall, in Newport, the home of the Isle of Wight Council?

In the major May 2021 elections, the Liberal Democrats retained a seat on the authority but no one group took overall control as none had secured the most of the 39 seats.

In the weeks that followed, an 18-strong Alliance Administration was formed, made up of independent councillors, Green Party members and an Our Island representative.

With the support of other parties, the Alliance seized control of the council from the Conservatives.

Now, two years down the line, councillors have come and gone as well as jumped ship, creating a new group or following new avenues.

The Conservatives, now with 16 members, are the largest party, followed by the Alliance which has shrunk to 13 councillors.

The Liberal Democrats are now the joint third-largest group, tied with Empowering Islanders, at four councillors a piece.

There is also a Labour councillor and independent Labour councillor.

In the coming weeks, the Alliance and its leader Cllr Lora Peacey-Wilcox, who is also in charge of the council, will face a second leadership challenge.

A motion of no confidence has been tabled for the September full council meeting by the Conservatives and Empowering Islanders group.

A similar motion was put forward in July but was withdrawn after the new Tory group leader, Cllr Suzie Ellis withdrew her support.

This week Cllr Ellis announced a U-turn on her position, a little over a month since the first no-confidence vote.