A FORMER Lib Dem parliamentary candidate last night took his new seat on Eastleigh council – even though he’s already a councillor in Southampton.

Steve Sollitt, pictured, was criticised by opposition parties for standing for election in Eastleigh South while he is still a serving councillor for Portswood in Southampton.

Southampton Tory councillor Jeremy Moulton said: “Portswood needs a councillor who will work for the interests of Portswood.

Steve Sollitt needs to decide where his loyalties lie. If he has given up on Portswood and his council seat there needs to be a by-election.”

Mr Sollitt, an NHS accountant who now lives in the Eastleigh ward, defended his dual roles saying council meetings didn’t clash and he could find time to represent both sets of constituents.

“It’s legitmately possible,” he said. “Nobody from the public has approached me at any stage and said: ‘what are you doing?’”

He insisted: “I’ve been given a mandate by the residents of Eastleigh to represent them and I was given a [four-year] mandate by the people of Portswood in 2007 to represent them. I’m not going to let them down. I’m not going to force them into a situation of a byelection.”

He added: “It’s not at all an unusual situation. People on district and county councils sometimes represent different areas as well.”

Mr Sollitt, who stood as the Lib Dem candidate for Southampton Test in the 2005 general election, said he decided to stand in Eastleigh as he had moved to the town, but still worked in Southampton.

And he admitted: “I took the decision not to stand down early in Southampton because I didn’t know if I would win or not in Eastleigh.”

The former deputy leader of Southampton’s Lib Dem group said he was going to be backbencher on both councils but would be claiming two allowances – £11,529 in Southampton and almost £6,000 in Eastleigh.

He said he had yet to decide whether to stand down from his Southampton seat next May, when his term ends.