The Reform UK surge in local government continues.
The party gained 10 additional seats in June-July from a total of 32 contests, with the Conservatives, Labour and even Independents on the receiving end. It was second in 17 others.
For both Labour and the Conservatives, their share of the vote compared with the relevant previous May elections dropped almost everywhere, sometimes quite dramatically.
In the Stocksbridge and Upper Don ward in Sheffield, for example, those two parties each experienced a fall of more than 20 percentage points as electors variously opted instead for either Reform or the Liberal Democrats.
But, as always, statistics may not tell the whole story.
There was indeed a near 60 percentage point fall in the Labour vote in the Eastfield division of North Yorkshire between the 2022 all-out elections and June’s by-election.
However, the Labour councillor elected in 2022 resigned the party’s whip a year later and easily won a subsequent by-election as an Independent, with Labour limping into third place with 16 per cent of the vote.
So, Labour’s initial collapse here can be dated back two years, though there can be no denying that Reform hoovered up all around this time.
However, Nigel Farage’s party needs perhaps to be aware of so-called buyer’s remorse, as Reform did lose two seats which it had won in May.
In Benfieldside, County Durham, the elected councillor turned out to be an employee of the council and was therefore automatically disqualified. The Liberal Democrats were the grateful beneficiaries among voters asked to go to the polls again rather unnecessarily.
In the Newark West division of Nottinghamshire, the Reform councillor resigned just a week after the election citing personal circumstances.
The party’s vote held up surprisingly well on a reduced turnout, but the Conservatives prevailed by eight votes to register just their second gain since May.
It has long been thought that London is another country in electoral terms and two recent results bear that out.
The Conservatives easily retained their Fulham Town seat in Hammersmith & Fulham with Labour falling back and Reform polling its lowest share of the vote in any by-election it has contested since 1 May.
In the Shooters Hill ward in Greenwich, Labour’s vote more than halved, enabling the Greens to leap to victory from a distant second place.
Those outcomes may be indicative of the kind of change in prospect at next year’s London borough elections, when Labour defends its 2022 high water mark, but elsewhere in England Reform will be in the spotlight.
The elections held over from May 2025 until 2026 in counties such as Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk (witness the Reform win in the Tower division) could see more long-standing Conservative administrations toppled.
Reform’s direct threat to Labour in 2026 is also more serious than it was this year, with no fewer than 10 Labour-controlled metropolitan boroughs – including Barnsley, Sandwell, Sunderland and Wakefield – having whole council elections following boundary changes.
| local by-elections |
|---|
| Adur, Buckingham LAB HELD 21.4% over Ref Turnout 45.4% |
| Basildon, Wickford Park REF GAIN FROM CON 3.6% over Con Turnout 25.3% |
| Bassetlaw, Ranskill REF GAIN FROM CON 37.0% over Lab Turnout 30.5% |
| Bath & North East Somerset, Mendip LIB DEM HELD 35.1% over Ref Turnout 37.5% |
| Chorley, Buckshaw and Whittle CON GAIN FROM LAB 2.8% over Ref Turnout 22.4% |
| Durham, Benfieldside LIB DEM GAIN FROM REF 0.8% over Lab Turnout 37.0% |
| Gedling, Calverton IND GAIN FROM CON 48.3% over Ref Turnout 29.6% |
| Greenwich, Shooters Hill GREEN GAIN FROM LAB 4.5% over Lab Turnout 32.6% |
| Hammersmith & Fulham, Fulham Town CON HELD 20.2% over Lib Dem Turnout 28.6% |
| Hartlepool, Throston REF GAIN FROM LAB 9.8% over Lab Turnout 20.4% |
| Isle Of Wight, Wroxall, Lowtherville and Bonchurch IND HELD 25.2% over Ref Turnout 32.4% |
| Mid Devon, Crediton Lawrence LIB DEM HELD 37.7% over Ref Turnout 27.1% |
| Mole Valley, Bookham East and Eastwick Park LIB DEM HELD 35.5% over Ref Turnout 38.3% |
| North Tyneside, Killingworth REF GAIN FROM LAB 6.6% over Lab Turnout 30.3% |
| North Tyneside, Longbenton and Benton LAB HELD 7.3% over Ref Turnout 24.7% |
| North Yorkshire, Eastfield REF GAIN FROM LAB 48.6% over Lab Turnout 16.6% |
| Nottinghamshire, Newark West CON GAIN FROM REF 0.4% over Ref Turnout 22.0% |
| Powys, Llanidloes LIB DEM HELD 0.4% over Ref Turnout 47.4% |
| Rossendale, Whitworth REF GAIN FROM COMMUNITY FIRST 18.4% over Con Turnout 26.2% |
| Rother, Catsfield & Crowhurst LIB DEM HELD 9.2% over Ref Turnout 37.0% |
| Rotherham, Keppel REF GAIN FROM LAB 12.5% over Ind Turnout 27.3% |
| Sefton, Blundellsands LAB HELD 28.4% over Green Turnout 30.0% |
| Sheffield, Stocksbridge and Upper Don REF GAIN FROM LAB 3.6% over Lib Dem Turnout 36.8% |
| South Staffordshire, Great Wyrley Landywood CON HELD 9.0% over Ref Turnout 18.8% |
| Spelthorne, Ashford Town LIB DEM GAIN FROM CON 4.1% over Ref Turnout 32.6% |
| Stevenage, Bedwell LAB HELD 8.7% over Ref Turnout 21.6% |
| Suffolk, Tower REF GAIN FROM CON 3.8% over Green Turnout 27.2% |
| Surrey, Woking South LIB DEM HELD 44.6% over Ref Turnout 25.1% |
| Tewkesbury, Northway REF GAIN FROM IND 10.5% over Lib Dem Turnout 25.3% |
| Vale Of White Horse, Botley & Sunningwell LIB DEM HELD 55.7% over Con Turnout 20.2% |
| Wealden, Horam & Punnetts Town GREEN HELD 2.9% over Ref Turnout 28.0% |
| Woking, Hoe Valley LIB DEM HELD 41.5% over Ref Turnout 24.4% |
- Download the excel spreadsheet below for more stats on recent local by-elections