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Labour party members are celebrating after gaining a council seat last night.
Zoe van Dyke won the Strood North ward of Medway Council, while Conservative's Robbie Lammas was victorious in the Princes Park area of Chatham.
Voting took place yesterday and the results were returned just before midnight at the council's headquarters at Gun Wharf.
The two by-elections were called following the deaths of Tory councillors Cllr Steve Iles and Cllr Tashi Bhutia.
Cllr Van Dyke won 913 votes, 185 more votes than her closest rival, Mark Joy of the Conservatives.
In her victory speech, she said: "It is a privilege to have been elected by the voters of Strood North, the ward in which I live.
"But this election is not and has not been about the candidates, for me it has been about promoting and reinforcing Labour values, doing our best for the people who live in Medway and strengthening Labour’s voice on the council for them. I hope to make my best contribution to those aims.”
Cllr Lammas attracted 961 votes, while Labour's John Strevens came second with 313.
He used his speech to pay tribute to his predecessor Cllr Bhutia, who passed away last month.
The 27-year-old, who has Asperger's syndrome, works as a chief of staff for Conservative MPs in Westminster.
He previously worked as a researcher for Chatham's Tracey Crouch MP.
He has lived in Princes Park almost his entire life and also spent time working at Chatham Grammar School for Boys, and managing a centre which caters for foreign students learning English.
Speaking about issues raised on the doorstep, he said: "Lots of people wanted to make the area more tidy and sort out rubbish and litter.
"People wanted to make the area look better with flowers, and people wanted trees and stuff.
"Obviously some people were concerned about building on the Capstone Valley area but I was standing on a ticket against development.
"But generally speaking, people were quite happy, they just wanted the area tidied up.
"And the other thing was the grass cutting, that was the number one issue I'd say. People want the area to look nice and they want to respect biodiversity, but they also want the area weed free, and the grass to be cut."
The turnout for Strood North was 23.5%, while Princes Park was 18.8%.
