There is usually a sparsity of local by-elections in the weeks before the annual May contests, and 2024 is no exception.
We have recorded results in just 10 wards across England and Wales, and in all but one case the by-election was in a council without scheduled elections this year.
The odd one out, Whitefield in Knowsley, saw an Independent hold on in a seat originally gained from Labour in 2022.
Elsewhere, only two seats changed hands, with the Conservatives suffering defeat in both cases.
In Huntingdonshire’s Yaxley and Farcet ward, the intervention of an Independent allowed the Liberal Democrats to win with less than a third of the total poll. The Liberal Democrats are now the largest party on the council.
Of Cambridgeshire’s constituent district councils, only Labour-held Cambridge itself has elections on 2 May.
Nevertheless, the pattern of voting in Yaxley will give the Liberal Democrats some encouragement as they prepare to fight the Conservatives in the very marginal South Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency at the southern end of the county.
The other Conservative loss, this time to Labour, was in rural north Wales.
The two-member Brynford and Halkyn ward in Flintshire was split between Labour and the Conservatives in 2022, with Labour topping the poll. This time, Labour gained the second seat, though with a smaller majority over the Conservatives than previously. The Conservatives now have a single representative on the council.
The Liberal Democrats retained three seats in ‘county unitaries’ that will, to the understandable irritation of local government enthusiasts, be analysed as much for their potential general election implications.
Harrogate and Knaresborough is 21 on the Liberal Democrats’ general election target list and the Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone ward of North Yorkshire is safe territory for the party.
Its share of the vote fell back by eight points to below 50 per cent compared with 2022, partly reflecting the intervention of Green and Reform party candidates.
Somerton in Somerset lends its name to the Somerton and Frome parliamentary constituency.
It was gained by the Liberal Democrats in a July 2023 parliamentary by-election, having previously been held – though never by more than 2,000 votes – by the party’s David Heath at four general elections between 1997 and 2010.
The Liberal Democrats took control of the new unitary council in 2022 and this result seems to reinforce their dominance, despite having to declare a financial emergency in late 2023.
The Cornish coastal ward of Looe West, Pelynt, Lansallos and Lanteglos re-elected a Liberal Democrat following the death of long-standing Cornwall and Looe Town councillor Edwina Hannaford. However, the party’s vote fell quite sharply with Labour more than doubling its share.
The Liberal Democrats won all five constituencies in the county at the 2005 general election, but currently hold none of the now six. They came third here in South East Cornwall last time and the by-election suggests it may be Labour that has boosted its position as the main challenger to the Conservatives.
| local by-elections | |
|---|---|
| Cambridgeshire, Yaxley and Farcet LIB DEM GAIN FROM CON 2.4% over Con Turnout 19.4% | |
| Cornwall, Looe West, Pelynt, Lansallos & Lanteglos LIB DEM HELD 14.1% over Con Turnout 27.2% | |
| Flintshire, Brynford and Halkyn LAB GAIN FROM CON 4.7% over Con Turnout 27.9% | |
| Knowsley, Whitefield IND HELD 8.3% over Lab Turnout 15.2% | |
| Neath Port Talbot, Neath East LAB HELD 17.3% over Ind Turnout 20.2% | |
| North Kesteven, Heckington Rural CON HELD 4.4% over Ind Turnout 31.1% | |
| North Northamptonshire, Desborough CON HELD 13.7% over Lab Turnout 29.6% | |
| North Yorkshire, Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone LIB DEM HELD 13.1% over Con Turnout 41.1% | |
| Somerset, Somerton LIB DEM HELD 13.8% over Con Turnout 29.0% | |
| Wealden, Uckfield New Town IND HELD 0.3% over Lab Turnout 31.8% |
For more information on these and other recent by-election results, please view the full elections spreadsheet.
