LIBERAL Democrat leaflets distributed in Saltford have incorrectly named a defeated council candidate as one of their councillors.
Hossein Pirooz missed out on being elected as one of the village’s councillors by just four votes in a Bath and North East Somerset Council by-election in January 2025. But more than a year later, Liberal Democrat activists were posting leaflets through letterboxes calling him a councillor.
The leaflets included a survey titled “Cllr Duncan Hounsell & Cllr Hossein Pirooz’s local survey.” But it was independent candidate Chris Warren who won the knife-edge 2025 by-election and is the village’s second councillor alongside Mr Hounsell.
A Liberal Democrat spokesperson said: “‘This was an office error, and the calling card only went to a maximum of 120 houses out of the 2,221 in Saltford before the mistake was noticed and pulled. Two full apologies were sent to Cllr Warren on 31st March.”
The survey on the leaflets asked what issues mattered most to people, how they rated the performance of the Liberal Democrat-run council, and who they voted for in the 2025 by-election. It was the closest electoral result in the history of the council and one of its most chaotic.
The Reform UK candidate only narrowly avoided having to shave their beard off, as they had promised to do so in a bet with a friend if the Liberal Democrats held the seat. Meanwhile, the Labour candidate was in Australia during the election and the party’s support collapsed to just 60 votes.
The next elections to Bath and North East Somerset Council are in May 2027.
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporting Service
Pictured below, Hossein Pirooz with B&NES Liberal Democrat council leader Kevin Guy at the by-election count in January 2025
