Local by-elections continue to see Reform UK mainly, but not exclusively, progress against both main parties. Volatility abounds, with 16 of 35 seats changing hands.
The Conservatives’ loss of six seats might have been greater had it not held on, by five and seven votes respectively, in two of its defences.
Neither do its three gains suggest a party with momentum, benefiting from Green absence in Rutland and the loss of a former Liberal Democrat councillor’s personal vote in Harborough.
Reform’s defeat to the Conservatives in Staffordshire’s Eccleshall and Gnosall division, too, was unsurprising. The seat was originally won by only 27 votes, with the new councillor resigning two weeks later.
But two seats retained suggest Reform’s electoral support may prove robust.
In Durham’s Easington and Shotton ward, its vote increased, despite an inexperienced candidate and a challenge from three former councillors.
The win in Doncaster’s Bentley ward proved critical in safeguarding Reform’s councillor base. Its cause was helped by a former Labour councillor standing as an Independent.
Reform’s threat to the Conservatives is apparent from two defeats in Dartford (where Reform polled 45 and 54 per cent from a standing start) and three in Surrey. But a victory in Bromley’s Common and Holwood ward is of symbolic value, too, giving Reform its first election victory in Greater London.
Labour retained four, but lost seven, seats, with the party vulnerable on three fronts. Most seats fell to Reform, but there were also defeats inflicted by the Greens and the Liberal Democrats.
Labour lost Basildon’s St Martins ward, generally one of the party’s more reliable seats, to Reform, despite no previous form here. The same was true in Warrington and Carmarthenshire, with Reform winning more than 40 per cent of the vote in all three contests.
Cannock Chase’s Hednesford Green Heath was won by former Conservative councillor Paul Jones, who won the county division as a Reform candidate in 2025 and now adds the district seat after winning more than half of the votes.
With newly elected Green Leader Zack Polanski likely to steer his party towards the left, the coming months may provide more results such as those from Cardiff and Newcastle upon Tyne.
The Greens previously fought Grangetown in an alliance with Plaid Cymru, but emerged as outright winners in a field of eight candidates.
Splits within the Labour camp in Newcastle possibly contributed to a 25-point fall in its vote there and a Green win in South Jesmond ward.
A similar Labour collapse in West Hampstead gave Camden’s Liberal Democrats an impressive victory.
For all the summer’s results and additional data, please download the excel below.
| local by-elections |
|---|
| Barking & Dagenham, Thames View LAB HELD 6.2% over Green Turnout 23.9% |
| Basildon, St Martin’s REF GAIN FROM LAB 9.5% over Lab Turnout 24.7% |
| Bromley, Bromley Common and Holwood REF GAIN FROM CON 4.6% over Con Turnout 28.1% |
| Broxtowe, Nuthall East and Strelley CON HELD 0.3% over Ref Turnout 35.2% |
| Camden, West Hampstead LIB DEM GAIN FROM LAB 33.2% over Lab Turnout 26.4% |
| Cannock Chase, Hednesford Green Heath REF GAIN FROM LAB 28.9% over Lab Turnout 16.6% |
| Cardiff, Grangetown GREEN GAIN FROM LAB 1.3% over Lab Turnout 26.9% |
| Cardiff, Llanrumney LAB HELD 6.5% over Ref Turnout 23.8% |
| Carmarthenshire, Llangennech REF GAIN FROM LAB 12.7% over Plaid Cymru Turnout 39.4% |
| Dacorum, Berkhamsted West LIB DEM HELD 25.1% over Con Turnout 24.5% |
| Dartford, Maypole and Leyton Cross REF GAIN FROM CON 25.7% over Con Turnout 24.9% |
| Dartford, Stone House REF GAIN FROM CON 16.7% over Con Turnout 15.1% |
| Denbighshire, Prestatyn Central CON HELD 0.6% over Ind Turnout 36.6% |
| Doncaster, Bentley REF HELD 6.2% over Lab Turnout 19.1% |
| Dorset, Swanage CON HELD 14.3% over Ref Turnout 45.4% |
| Durham, Easington and Shotton REF HELD 18.8% over Lab Turnout 21.7% |
| East Hampshire, Alton Amery LIB DEM HELD 29.4% over Ref Turnout 36.5% |
| Gwynedd, Abermaw IND HELD 58.6% over Ref Turnout 37.4% |
| Harborough, Market Harborough Logan CON GAIN FROM LIB DEM 4.2% over Lib Dem Turnout 29.4% |
| Hertsmere, Borehamwood Brookmeadow CON HELD 5.2% over Ref Turnout 24.8% |
| Hounslow, Cranford LAB HELD 11.6% over Con Turnout 21.7% |
| Lichfield, Alrewas and Fradley CON HELD 15.4% over Ref Turnout 26.3% |
| Liverpool, Sefton Park GREEN HELD 27.4% over Lab Turnout 22.8% |
| Luton, Stopsley LIB DEM HELD 5.1% over Ref Turnout 24.8% |
| Neath Port Talbot, Baglan LAB HELD 9.3% over Ind Turnout 33.9% |
| Newcastle upon Tyne, South Jesmond GREEN GAIN FROM LAB 3.4% over Lib Dem Turnout 30.8% |
| North Devon, Barnstaple with Westcott LIB DEM HELD 9.8% over Ref Turnout 22.3% |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf , Pontypridd Town PLAID CYMRU HELD 27.4% over Lab Turnout 44.3% |
| Runnymede, Addlestone South TWO REF GAIN FROM CON 7.7% over Lib Dem Turnout 28.3% |
| Rutland, Barleythorpe CON GAIN FROM GREEN 12.5% over Lib Dem Turnout 29.3% |
| Staffordshire, Eccleshall and Gnosall CON GAIN FROM REF 17.1% over Green Turnout 34.8% |
| Surrey, Addlestone REF GAIN FROM CON 10.0% over Con Turnout 24.1% |
| Surrey, Hinchley Wood, Claygate and Oxshott LIB DEM HELD 7.1% over Con Turnout 34.0% |
| Warrington, Bewsey and Whitecross REF GAIN FROM LAB 7.1% over Lab Turnout 17.7% |