A mixed picture 

Following on from their spectacular 2021 gain in the North Shropshire parliamentary by-election, Liberal Democrats in the county are thriving.   

In September, they took the Worfield division by eight votes, overturning a 50-point Conservative majority in the process, but the most recent contest was in Alveley and Claverley – where the Conservatives poll around half to three-quarter of votes. 

Liberal Democrat Colin Taylor knows this at first hand. He contested in both 2013 and 2017, his best result a 25 per cent share. His October by-election victory saw him win almost two-thirds of votes as a 47-point Conservative majority was brushed aside. 

Buckinghamshire, too, provides evidence of strong Liberal Democrat campaigning.   

The Conservatives easily won all three seats in Buckingham East in 2021, with Liberal Democrats out-polled by an Independent and Labour candidates. This time round, Anja Schaefer, Mayor of Buckingham Town Council, made light of that result, finishing 100 votes ahead of her Conservative rival. 

A more predictable gain came in the battle for Bolton’s Westhoughton North and Hunger Hill ward, newly created prior to last May’s election. The three seats divided between two Conservatives and a Liberal Democrat who topped the poll. It was odds on, therefore, that Deirdre McGeown, a local parish councillor, would strengthen her party’s grip on the ward. 

For many years, Elmbridge had been notable for the presence of local Resident Associations on the council. The 2022 elections saw increased support for Liberal Democrats who gained the most votes, a feat achieved again last May when they became the largest party on the council. Molesey East elected a Liberal Democrat then and this second win was expected. 

The Greens took two Conservative seats in Worcester, one for the city council, another for the county.  

In May, the Conservatives lost all their seats being defended on Worcester City Council. The Warndon Parish South ward was won then by the Green’s Andrew Cross and he is now joined by Katie Collier, the recent by-election winner.   

Cross, no doubt galvanised by his earlier win, gave electors a further chance to show their support, contesting the larger Warndon Parish county division. His challenge was to overtake Labour and then remove the Conservatives from a safe seat. He made light of the task, securing almost double the votes cast for his Conservative opponent. 

These wins were followed a week later with the successful defence of two seats in Burnley.  The borough council ward returned a Green last May so defeat there was unlikely. The county division seat was more difficult, however, but the party selected Burnley Group Leader Scott Cunliffe, who had missed out on the Burnley Rural seat in the last county elections. 

There was disappointment, however, when the Greens allowed Labour its only victory in Melton’s Asfordby ward. It is a puzzle why Labour ignored this ward in recent years.  Margaret Clay, the party’s winner, is the first Labour candidate on the ballot since a by-election challenge nine years ago. The Greens finished fourth and last. 

Consolation was not long in arriving. A resignation in North Somerset meant a vacancy in Wrington ward. This area is near Bristol Airport, which has submitted plans for expansion. The Liberal Democrats had won the seat before 2015 and so might have sensed an opportunity, but it was the Green’s Thomas Daw who prevailed, winning by the slender margin of 39 votes. 

There was an improbable Conservative victory in South Holland’s Spalding St Paul’s ward.  The count finished with Vanessa Browning, standing for the South Holland Independents, tied on 155 votes with Conservative, Glynis Scalese.   

After drawing lots, the returning officer gave victory to the Conservatives. Some voters may have been confused by the ballot paper. This listed Stephen Timewell, who polled 132 votes as ‘True Independent’. A search of the Electoral Commission’s website for registered names finds no results for that description. 

A second by-election in Bolton provided further evidence of the borough’s complex local politics. Fourteen candidates challenged for the three vacancies in Kearsley ward last May.  The three winners all stood for ‘One Kearsley’ with these edging out Tracey Wilkinson, representing the Farnsworth & Kearsley First Party (FKF), and a Reform UK & Bolton for Change candidate further adrift.   

One Kearsley then disbanded, with two councillors defecting to Labour and the third resigning his seat, causing the by-election. Wilkinson, a former councillor in the area, was easily elected. 

Cricket lovers may be interested to know that Matthew Engel, for many years a journalist with The Guardian and formerly an editor of the cricket bible, ‘Wisden’, was elected as an Independent to Herefordshire Council and now represents the Golden Valley South ward. 

• For additional data on these and other recent results, please view our elections spreadsheet.