Most, though not all, by-elections now being held are in councils that do not have contests scheduled for May.
The guiding principle is that casual vacancies are not filled if the elected member who is to be replaced would have naturally completed their term within six months of the vacancy occurring.
So, in Hertfordshire, the county contest to fill the Hitchin North seat following the sad death of long-serving Labour and LGA stalwart Judi Billing took place earlier in February, but the choice of a new representative in her Hitchin Bearton district ward awaits the forthcoming council-wide elections.
In Sefton, the resigning councillor’s term was not due to end in May and he resigned more than six months in advance in any case; in Dartford, timings were thrown into disarray by the announcement of an additional bank holiday for the Coronation and the requisite two electors were able to insist a by-election was called.
The successful Conservative candidate, Eddy Lampkin, will now be obliged to seek the renewal of his mandate after just 12 weeks.
On the political front, each of four political parties made at least one gain, with the Liberal Democrats registering a net advance of three seats.
Two of their gains came within parliamentary constituencies that they held for many years until 2015, and which they will be targeting at the next general election.
In Cheltenham, Battledown was the only ward which the Conservatives won in last year’s whole council elections. This time a 10 per cent swing to the Liberal Democrats saw them lose it for the first time since it was created in 2002.
“Things did not always go the Lib Dems’ way”
The Cornwall division of Long Rock, Marazion & St Erth is in the St Ives parliamentary constituency, and here the Liberal Democrats’ victory appears to have come courtesy of sweeping up the vote previously garnered by an Independent candidate.
The absence of an Independent also aided the party in North Yorkshire, where its surprisingly comfortable margin in the Masham and Fountains division reduced the Conservative overall majority on the soon-to-be-inaugurated unitary council to just two.
It might, however, be germane to point out that the unsuccessful Independent candidate from 2022 herself stood for the Liberal Democrats this time and, in this still rather traditional part of the country, is also known as the Countess of Swinton.
But things did not go the Liberal Democrats’ way in every case.
The former MP for Bristol West, Stephen Williams, attempted to get elected for the Hotwells and Harbourside ward in his old constituency.
He was narrowly defeated by the Greens by the same 26-vote majority as his predecessor had in winning the seat in 2021. Their gain made the Greens the largest party on the city council.
| local by-elections |
|---|
| Barnet, Golders Green CON HELD 44.3% over Lab Turnout 27.2% |
| Bristol, Hotwells and Harbourside GREEN GAIN FROM LIB DEM 2.1% over Lib Dem Turnout 32.4% |
| Cambridgeshire, St Neots The Eatons LIB DEM GAIN FROM IND 12.3% over Con Turnout 25.5% |
| Cheltenham, Battledown LIB DEM GAIN FROM CON 15.9% over Con Turnout 35.0% |
| Cornwall, Long Rock, Marazion & St Erth LIB DEM GAIN FROM CON 17.2% over Con Turnout 32.1% |
| Dartford, Wilmington, Sutton-At-Hone and Hawley CON HELD 44.7% over Lab Turnout 19.2% |
| Denbighshire, Rhyl Ty Newydd CON GAIN FROM LAB 1.3% over Lab Turnout 25.6% |
| Hertfordshire, Hitchin North LAB HELD 48.4% over Con Turnout 26.0% |
| North Northamptonshire, Northall LAB GAIN FROM CON 8.3% over Con Turnout 25.7% |
| North Yorkshire, Masham and Fountains LIB DEM GAIN FROM CON 25.5% over Con Turnout 35.5% |
| Rotherham, Keppel LAB GAIN FROM ROTHERHAM DEMOCRATIC PARTY 22.5% over Ind Turnout 19.9% |
| Torfaen, Llantarnam IND HELD 7.1% over Lab Turnout 22.5% |
| Sefton, Netherton and Orrell LAB HELD 72.7% over Con Turnout 13.0% |