Taxpayers could face another costly by-election after the resignation of the only Labour councillor on Mirfield Town Council.
Gary Bunton, 26, quit the seat he won in May for a job training opportunity down South.
His resignation comes less than a month since a controversial by-election left taxpayers with a bill of around £10,000.
The Battyeford by-election pitched Labour’s Michael Hutchinson against Tory Martin Ibberson.
Businessman Mr Ibberson narrowly won with just over 1,000 people, a fifth of the electorate, turning out.
The election, which effectively cost a tenner a vote, was branded a “waste of money.”
Now there is speculation another equally-expensive by-election could be called for Mr Bunton’s Eastthorpe seat, which covers the town centre.
Tory councillor Martyn Bolt, who described the last by-election as a “waste of money”, said: “If another by-election is called, that’s democracy.
“If we have to we’ll look around for another candidate, like Martin Ibberson, who has Mirfield’s interests at heart.”
The Battyeford poll sparked controversy because Mr Hutchinson had been denied a place on the council after winning a seat in May.
He failed to attend a meeting to sign a declaration as he was in Canada visiting a sick relative.
That resulted in him being barred from taking up his seat. Clr Hutchinson could have been co-opted – or invited – to join the council without a poll but an election was called instead.
Both Labour and the Tories have blamed each other and the fall-out continues. After losing the by-election Mr Hutchinson, twice Mayor of Mirfield, has written an official letter of complaint to the council over what happened.
The complaint is due to be discussed at the next meeting and Mr Hutchinson will be invited.
Mr Bunton, a graduate in politics at the University of Huddersfield, has been offered a place on a post-graduate accountancy training programme in Bristol.
He said he had deliberated long and hard but the opportunity was too good to miss.
Mr Hutchinson was non-committal over another by-election and said it was a “decision for the Labour Party.”
