Thirteen by-elections followed the resignation of Labour councillors after being voted into Parliament, with a net loss of nine seats.
The Conservatives, Greens and Liberal Democrats all profited, but notably, Reform UK gained a seat from Labour in Blackpool’s Marton ward.
This was the party’s second local by-election gain, the first coming on general election day in a Conservative seat on East Riding of Yorkshire.
Marton’s vacancy arose after the new MP for Hyndburn, Sarah Smith, resigned as a councillor. She topped the two-member election in 2023, with Andrew Stansfield the best-placed Conservative and Reform’s sole candidate polling 9 per cent.
This time, Stansfield contested the by-election as an Independent, effectively ruling out any Conservative upset. Labour, whose by-election vote was a fraction of previous support, was defeated by Reform’s Jim O’Neil, a former solider campaigning on withdrawal of the winter fuel allowance.
Three more Labour defences arising from resignations of councillors (now MPs) all fell to Conservatives.
The first casualty in early September was Longbeck ward in Redcar & Cleveland. The Conservative’s Stephen Crane, who had finished sixth and last standing as an Independent in 2023, did rather better under party colours.
Jessica Toale’s election to the Bournemouth West constituency led to the contest in Westminster’s West End. Labour won the ward narrowly in 2022 but lost it this time by a similar margin.
The Conservatives’ third gain was securing Beccy Cooper’s former seat on Worthing council, after she was elected MP in Worthing West.
Marine ward’s electors voted for Cooper in 2021, ending decades of Conservative support there. Re-elected in 2024, two years after becoming leader of the council, she ousted long-standing MP Sir Peter Bottomley at the general election.
Labour lost her council seat on a 12-point swing to the Conservatives.
Two other Labour defeats to the Conservatives came in Gedling’s Bestwood St Albans ward, where Labour lose by 58 votes, and Waverley’s succinctly named Godalming, Binscombe and Charterhouse ward, which was decided by a margin of 11 votes.
The Conservatives also gained a seat from the Greens in Thurston ward on Mid Suffolk District Council.
The Greens took majority control on the council in 2023 and then captured the parliamentary seat, Waveney Valley, at the general election.
Thurston, which lies outside the parliamentary boundary, split between a Green and Conservative in 2019 but four years later elected two Greens with healthy majorities. This by-election saw Harry Richardson return, the defeated Conservative last time.
After becoming a Conservative-free zone at the last general election, a tiny blue shoot has appeared in Wales after the party’s victory over Labour by 51 votes in Denbighshire’s Rhyl Trellewelyn.
Wales also witnessed Labour’s only gain, when the Independents lost Merthyr Tydfil’s Bedlinog and Trelewis ward. Defeat for the Independents and two defections from the group mean that Labour is now the largest party on the council.
But Independents saw success elsewhere, albeit in unusual circumstances in one case.
In August 2023, Liberal Democrat John Croft captured Norfolk’s Freebridge Lynn division from the Conservatives. Following his death, the party chose not to contest the vacancy, instead giving support to Simon Ring, the Independent candidate and Deputy Leader of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council.
The Greens, too, opted out, easing his path to victory.
There was more competition in Huntingdonshire, where the Independent faced the defending Conservatives and a strong Liberal Democrat challenge to win the St Neots Eaton ward.
Both the Greens and Liberal Democrats have played their part in troubling Labour.
The Greens made gains in Hackney and Lancaster respectively. These councils vie with one another for having the largest number of vacancies, with the latter now on 69 contests, a lead of just one.
The Green’s Liam Davis won the Stoke Newington ward after an 18-point swing against Labour while Lancaster’s Scotforth East produced a 21-point swing.
Not to be overshadowed, the Liberal Democrats seized Bromsgrove’s Sidemoor ward, where Labour normally polls above 40 per cent.
The by-election produced a 27-point swing to the Liberal Democrats with Labour slipping to third place and just 17 per cent share.
Part of the explanation for these poor results for Labour may lie with turnout, which exceeded 30 per cent in only three cases.
Average turnout for the September contests was just 20 per cent, the lowest September average in 41 years, and three points lower than the previous record set in 2001.
That year also brought a record low general election turnout which 2024’s equivalent only narrowly avoided. Such widespread lack of engagement in the future is likely to impact most on Labour.
| By-elections | |
|---|---|
| Blackpool, Marton REFORM UK GAIN FROM LAB 11.5% over Lab Turnout 23.1% | |
| Bromsgrove, Sidemoor LIB DEM GAIN FROM LAB 25.7% over Con Turnout 19.7% | |
| Cambridge, Romsey LAB HELD 13.4% over Green Turnout 20.2% | |
| Camden, Camden Square LAB HELD 30.9% over Ind Turnout 16.4% | |
| Camden, Kentish Town South LAB HELD 24.1% over Green Turnout 17.9% | |
| Camden, Kilburn LAB HELD 29.2% over Con Turnout 13.1% | |
| Cheshire East, Crewe West LAB HELD 17.3% over Reform Turnout 16.8% | |
| Cornwall, Falmouth Penwerris LAB HELD 14.5% over Lib Dem Turnout 15.5% | |
| Denbighshire, Rhyl Trellewelyn CON GAIN FROM LAB 16.5% over Lab Turnout 11.5% | |
| East Staffordshire, Stretton CON HELD 49.5% over Lab Turnout 19.3% | |
| Gateshead, Bridges LAB HELD 6.2% over LIB DEM Turnout 17.5% | |
| Gedling, Bestwood St Albans CON GAIN FROM LAB 7.7% over Lab Turnout 18.0% | |
| Hackney, London Fields LAB HELD 22.4% over Green Turnout 14.5% | |
| Hackney, Stoke Newington GREEN GAIN FROM LAB 13.0% over Lab Turnout 20.4% | |
| Hartlepool, Burn Valley LAB HELD 7.6% over Reform Turnout 17.0% | |
| Herefordshire, Credenhill IND HELD 8.6% over Ind Turnout 22.2% | |
| Huntingdonshire, St Neots Eatons IND GAIN FROM CON 1.7% over Lib Dem Turnout 18.9% | |
| Lancaster, Scotforth East GREEN GAIN FROM LAB 35.4% over Lab Turnout 30.8% | |
| Luton, Barnfield LIB DEM HELD 46.1% over Lab Turnout 19.8% | |
| Luton, Wigmore LIB DEM HELD 39.4% over Ind Turnout 19.5% | |
| Manchester, Baguley LAB HELD 25.7% over Green Turnout 11.3% | |
| Merthyr Tydfil, Bedlinog and Trelewis LAB GAIN FROM IND 11.5% over Ind Turnout 28.2% | |
| Mid Suffolk, Thurston CON GAIN FROM GREEN 5.2% over Green Turnout 21.0% | |
| Milton Keynes, Bletchley East LAB HELD 25.1% over Con Turnout 13.1% | |
| Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Jesmond LIB DEM HELD 44.1% over Lab Turnout 23.8% | |
| Norfolk, Freebridge Lynn IND GAIN FROM LIB DEM 20.0% over Con Turnout 18.1% | |
| North Norfolk, North Walsham Market Cross LIB DEM HELD 7.2% over Con Turnout 27.6% | |
| Redcar & Cleveland, Longbeck CON GAIN FROM LAB 17.6% over Lab Turnout 29.9% | |
| Stockton-On-Tees, Fairfield CON HELD 31.9% over Lab Turnout 32.0% | |
| Swale, Priory LIB DEM HELD 15.6% over Reform Turnout 29.3% | |
| Tower Hamlets, Bow East LAB HELD 22.9% over Green Turnout 15.2% | |
| Waverley, Godalming Binscombe & Charterhouse CON GAIN FROM LAB 0.6% over Lib Dem Turnout 29.4% | |
| Westminster, Harrow Road LAB HELD 23.1% over Green Turnout 14.6% | |
| Westminster, West End CON GAIN FROM LAB 10.7% over Lab Turnout 16.8% | |
| Worthing, Marine CON GAIN FROM LAB 4.0% over Lab Turnout 31.7% |
- For additional data on these and other recent local election results, please download the Excel spreadsheet of by-election results below.
