MAYORAL RESULTS

There were six regional and metropolitan mayoral elections held on Thursday, including two new posts - Greater Lincolnshire and Hull & East Yorkshire.  Labour were defending the four existing posts and successfully fought off strong Reform challenges in three of them.  Labour narrowly beat Reform by just a few hundred votes in both Doncaster and North Tyneside.  The Conservatives scored a gain from Labour in Cambridgeshire, which at the time of writing is the only piece of good news for the Tories on a torrid day.

Having wreaked devastating damage on the Tories on county councils across England, Reform UK took both of the new mayoral posts.  Ex-Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns triumphed for Reform in Greater Lincolnshire, while former Team GB boxer Luke Campbell became the first mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire.

Here are the results in full.

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough

Paul Bristow (Con) 60,243 (28.4%)

Ryan Coogan (Ref) 49,647 (23.4%)

Anna Smith (Lab) 42,671 (20.1%)

Lorna Dupré (LDm) 41,611 (19.6%)

Bob Ensch (Grn) 18,255 (8.6%)

Con GAIN from Lab

Doncaster

Ros Jones (Lab) 23,805 (32.6%) 

Alexander Jones (Ref) 23,107 (31.6%)

Nick Fletcher (Con) 18,982 (26.0%)

Julie Buckley (Grn) 2,449 (3.4%)

Andrew Walmsley (Yrks) 1,164 (1.6%)

David Bettney (SDP) 929 (1.3%)

Mihai Melenciuc (LDm) 895 (1.2%)

Frank Calladine (BDm) 448 (0.6%)

Ahsan Jamil (WPB) 434 (0.6%)

Andy Hiles (TUS) 393 (0.5%)

Richie Vallance (Ind) 245 (0.3%)

Doug Wright (Ind) 157 (0.2%)

Lab HOLD

Greater Lincolnshire

Andrea Jenkyns (Ref) 104,133 (42.0%)

Rob Waltham (Con) 64,585 (26.1%)

Jason Stockwood (Lab) 30,384 (12.3%)

Marianne Overton (Ind) 19,911 (8.0%)

Sally Horscroft (Grn) 15,040 (6.1%)

Trevor Young (LDm) 13,728 (5.5%)

Ref WIN (new post)

Hull & East Yorkshire

Luke Campbell (Ref) 48,491 (35.8%)

Mike Ross (LDm) 37,510 (27.7%)

Anne Handley (Con) 21,393 (15.8%)

Margaret Pinder (Lab) 18,568 (13.7%)

Kerry Harrison (Grn) 5,049 (3.7%)

Rowan Halstead (Yrks) 4,372 (3.2%)

Ref WIN (new post)

North Tyneside

Karen Clark (Lab) 16,230 (30.2%)

John Falkenstein (Ref) 15,786 (29.4%)

Liam Bones (Con) 11,017 (20.5%)

Chloe-Louise Reilly (Grn) 3,980 (7.4%)

John Appleby (LDm) 3,453 (6.4%)

Cath Davis (Ind) 1,780 (3.3%)

Martin Uren (Ind) 1,460 (2.7%)

Lab HOLD

West of England

Helen Godwin (Lab) 51,197 (25.0%)

Arron Banks (Ref) 45,252 (22.1%)

Mary Page (Grn) 41,094 (20.0%)

Steve Smith (Con) 34,092 (16.6%)

Oli Henman (LDm) 28,711 (14.0%)

Ian Scott (Ind) 4,682 (2.3%)

Lab HOLD

COUNCIL RESULTS

23 council authorities held elections on Thursday, the vast majority of them county councils.  Labour were defending just one - the City of Doncaster - which they lost to Reform with a huge swing.  Ed Miliband and the rest of the local Labour MPs are likely to be toast based on these results, although a lot can change in four years.

The astonishing level of support for Reform meant that zero councils at the start of the day turned into ten by the end of it.  Eight of those gains came from the Conservatives, who had an exceptionally torrid day, losing control of every single council they were defending.  While Reform had an overall net gain of 677 council seats, the Tories had a net loss of 676.  It's no coincidence that these two figures are so close.  Reform are not just a threat to Labour, they are demolishing the Conservatives as well.

The only other party that won control of any councils on Thursday was the Lib Dems, who gained three in total.

The results are as follows.  The figures provided are the total number of council seats won per party and the difference in brackets from previous local elections.

Buckinghamshire County Council

Con: 46 (-31)

LDm: 27 (+19)

Ind: 13 (+6)

Lab: 5 (+1)

Ref: 3 (+3)

Grn: 3 (+2)

NOC GAIN from Con

Cambridgeshire County Council

LDm: 31 (+11)

Ref: 10 (+10)

Con: 10 (-18)

Lab: 5 (-4)

Grn: 3 (+3)

Ind: 2 (-2)

LDm GAIN from NOC

City of Doncaster Council

Ref: 37 (+37)

Lab: 12 (-28)

Con: 6 (-5)

Ind: 0 (-4)

Ref GAIN from Lab

Cornwall Council

Ref: 28 (+28)

LDm: 26 (+13)

Ind: 16 (n/c)

Con: 7 (-40)

Lab: 4 (-1)

Grn: 3 (+2)

MebK: 3 (-2)

NOC HOLD

Derbyshire County Council

Ref: 42 (+42)

Con: 12 (-33)

LDm: 3 (-1)

Lab: 3 (-11)

Ind: 2 (+2)

Grn: 2 (+1)

Ref GAIN from Con

Devon County Council

LDm: 27 (+18)

Ref: 18 (+18)

Con: 7 (-32)

Grn: 6 (+4)

Ind: 2 (-1)

Lab: 0 (-7)

NOC GAIN from Con

Durham County Council

Ref: 65 (+65)

LDm: 14 (+1)

Ind: 12 (-14)

Lab: 4 (-38)

Grn: 2 (+1)

Con: 1 (-15)

Ref GAIN from NOC

Gloucestershire County Council

LDm: 27 (+11)

Ref: 11 (+11)

Grn: 9 (+5)

Con: 6 (-24)

Ind: 1 (+1)

Lab: 1 (-4)

NOC HOLD

Hertfordshire County Council

LDm: 31 (+8)

Con: 22 (-24)

Ref: 14 (+14)

Grn: 5 (+4)

Lab: 5 (-2)

Ind: 1 (n/c)

NOC GAIN from Con

Kent County Council

Ref: 57 (+57)

LDm: 12 (+6)

Grn: 5 (+1)

Con: 5 (-57)

Lab: 2 (-5)

Ind: 0 (-1)

RA: 0 (-1)

Ref GAIN from Con

Lancashire County Council

Ref: 53 (+53)

Ind: 9 (+9)

Con: 8 (-40)

Lab: 5 (-27)

LDm: 5 (+3)

Grn: 4 (+2)

Ref GAIN from Con

Leicestershire County Council

Ref: 25 (+25)

Con: 15 (-27)

LDm: 11 (+2)

Lab: 2 (-2)

Grn: 1 (+1)

Ind: 1 (+1)

NOC GAIN from Con

Lincolnshire County Council

Ref: 44 (+44)

Con: 14 (-40)

LDm: 5 (+2)

Ind: 4 (-5)

Lab: 3 (-1)

Ref GAIN from Con

North Northamptonshire Council

Ref: 39 (+39)

Con: 13 (-37)

Grn: 8 (+5)

Lab: 4 (-8)

Ind: 1 (n/c)

LDm: 1 (+1)

Ref GAIN from Con

Northumberland County Council

Con: 26 (-10)

Ref: 23 (+23)

Lab: 8 (-12)

Ind: 7 (-1)

LDm: 3 (n/c)

Grn 2 (n/c)

NOC HOLD

Nottinghamshire County Council

Ref: 40 (+40)

Con: 17 (-19)

Lab: 4 (-10)

Ind: 2 (-1)

RA: 1 (-9)

LDm: 0 (-1)

Ref GAIN from Con

Oxfordshire County Council

LDm: 36 (+12)

Lab: 12 (-3)

Con: 10 (-15)

Grn: 7 (+4)

Ind: 2 (+1)

Ref: 1 (+1)

RA: 1 (n/c)

LDm GAIN from NOC

Shropshire County Council

LDm: 42 (+29)

Ref: 16 (+16)

Con: 7 (-38)

Grn: 4 (n/c)

Lab: 4 (-5)

Ind: 1 (-2)

LDm GAIN from Con

Staffordshire County Council

Ref: 49 (+49)

Con: 10 (-46)

Grn: 1 (+1)

Ind: 1 (n/c)

Lab: 0 (-4)

Ref GAIN from Con

Warwickshire County Council

Ref: 23 (+23)

LDm: 14 (+9)

Con: 9 (-33)

Grn: 7 (+4)

Lab: 3 (-3)

RA: 1 (n/c)

NOC GAIN from Con

West Northamptonshire Council

Ref: 42 (+42)

Con: 17 (-35)

Lab: 9 (-9)

LDm: 6 (+2)

Ind: 2 (n/c)

Ref GAIN from Con

Wiltshire County Council

LDm: 43 (+16)

Con: 37 (-24)

Ref: 10 (+10)

Ind: 7 (n/c)

Lab: 1 (-2)

NOC GAIN from Con

Worcestershire County Council

Ref: 27 (+27)

Con: 12 (-33)

Grn: 8 (+5)

LDm: 6 (+2)

Ind: 2 (n/c)

Lab: 2 (-1)

NOC GAIN from Con

REFORM GAIN RUNCORN & HELSBY

SIX VOTES: Nigel Farage indicates the narrow margin in Runcorn

A huge swing from Labour to Reform has delivered a very narrow victory for the latter in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.  Reform's Sarah Pochin triumphed by just six votes, following a recount demanded by Labour.  Reform had led the first count by an even smaller margin of four votes.  The result was the narrowest Westminster by-election since the Liberal candidate unseated the Conservatives by 57 votes in the Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1973.

Labour had been defending a 14,696 majority coming into this by-election, but the swing from Labour to Reform was a huge 17.4 per cent.

The Conservatives remained third, but fell further behind and finished just 27 votes ahead of the fourth placed Green candidate.  Turnout was 46.2 per cent.

Runcorn and Helsby By-Election 2025

Sarah Pochin (Ref) 12,645 (38.7%) +20.5%

Karen Shore (Lab) 12,639 (38.7%) -14.3%

Sean Houlston (Con) 2,341 (7.2%) -8.8%

Chris Copeman (Grn) 2,314 (7.1%) +0.7%

Paul Duffy (LDm) 942 (2.9%) -2.2%

Dan Clarke (Lib) 454 (1.4%) +0.3%

Michael Williams (Ind) 363 (1.1%) New

Alan McKie (Ind) 269 (0.8%) New

Peter Ford (WPB) 164 (0.5%) New

John Stevens (REU) 129 (0.4%) New

Howling Laud Hope (Loon) 128 (0.4%) New

Catherine Blaiklock (EDm) 95 (0.3%) New

Paul Andrew Murphy (SDP) 68 (0.2%) -0.1%

Jason Philip Hughes (Volt) 54 (0.2%) New

Graham Harry Moore (ECP) 50 (0.2%) New

Ref GAIN from Lab

LABOUR'S LITTLE HELPERS

Labour's far left helpers in Runcorn (note the lack of diversity)

If you want an example of how important the Runcorn and Helsby by-election is to Labour, look no further than the deployment of their little helpers from far left third parties who are not standing in the election.  A group calling itself 'Stand Up To Racism' has been posting smear leaflets in the constituency and is currently holding a demonstration outside the count chanting: "Nigel Farage, we know you, you're a racist through and through".

As you can see from the clip below, while the chant is led by a Muslim woman, the rest of the group is almost exclusively white.  So much for diversity!

The homogeneously white make-up of these far left clowns is also plain to see from their group photo outside the Co-op at the top of this article, a 100 per cent white group complaining about a party which has a Sri Lankan Muslim as its chairman.  You couldn't make it up.

Labour has deployed these third party smear groups for decades now, with previous incarnations known as the 'Anti-Nazi League' and 'Unite Against Fascism'.  They are used wherever right-wing parties are seen as a threat to Labour dominance.  There is never an outcry about these explicitly anti-democratic exercises, because they serve the establishment.  Meanwhile, entire elections can be called into question or outright cancelled when the establishment does not get the result it wants - think Brexit, 'Russian interference' in the 2016 Trump victory, cancelled elections in Romania, outlawed candidates in France and elsewhere.

ODDS ON IN RUNCORN

Five of the 15 Runcorn candidates line up for a debate (l-r Chris Copeman (Grn),
Paul Duffy (LDm), Sean Houlston (Con), Sarah Pochin (Ref) and Karen Shore (Lab)

There are various layers of elections taking place on Thursday, but perhaps the one with most eyes upon it will be the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, triggered by the resignation of disgraced Labour MP Mike Amesbury.  Labour will be defending a 14,696 majority going into this by-election, which in normal circumstances would be a relatively easy seat to defend, but this by-election takes place in no such circumstances.

The nature of Amesbury's departure, combined with the wretched Labour government's plummeting approval ratings, has opened up the contest to a possible upset.  The bookies have Reform UK as odds on favourites, albeit their odds are drifting slightly going into election day, with Labour's odds shortening.  There is clearly some late money banking on a narrow Labour hold.

William Hill election day odds

Reform UK 3/10

Labour 12/5

Tories 200/1

Independents 250/1

All other candidates 500/1

Not surprisingly, given Amesbury's violent antics, Labour have opted for a female candidate.  Karen Shore is the former deputy leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council.  Reform have also gone for a female, ex Tory councillor Sarah Pochin.  Pochin's selection will do nothing to dissuade critics that Reform are moving in a Uniparty direction.  Tory connections asides, she is a magistrate who has also worked for major multinational energy companies such as Shell.  She screams 'establishment'.

As per usual for a Westminster by-election, the ballot paper will be a crowded affair, with 15 candidates having coughed up a deposit.  Disaffected Labour voters will be spoiled for choice as to where to place their protest vote.

Runcorn and Helsby candidates

Catherine Blaiklock (English Democrats)

Dan Clarke (Liberal)

Chris Copeman (Green)

Paul Duffy (Liberal Democrat)

Peter Ford (Workers Party of Britain)

Howling Laud Hope (Monster Raving Loony)

Sean Houlston (Conservative)

Jason Philip Hughes (Volt)

Alan McKie (Independent)

Graham Harry Moore (English Constitution)

Paul Andrew Murphy (SDP)

Sarah Pochin (Reform UK)

Karen Shore (Labour)

John Stevens (Rejoin EU)

Michael Williams (Independent)

Reform already secured second place in last year's general election and Kemi Badenoch's somewhat uninspiring start to her Tory leadership will do Reform no harm this time.  The result will come down to just how many of those 22,358 Labour voters switch parties or don't show up at all.  Crucially, the size of the Labour swing to Reform will decide the outcome and we see the result being fairly tight.

Runcorn and Helsby 2024 general election

Mike Amesbury (Lab) 22,358 (52.9%) +4.1%

Jason Moorcroft (Ref) 7,662 (18.1%) +13.3%

Jade Marsden (Con) 6,756 (16.0%) -20.8%

Chris Copeman (Grn) 2,715 (6.4%) +3.5%

Chris Rowe (LDm) 2,149 (5.1%) -1.6%

Danny Clarke (Lib) 479 (1.1%) New

Paul Murphy (SDP) 116 (0.3%) New

VOTE IF YOU HAVE ONE

If you have a vote in today's elections - a small minority of voters in England will - please use it to send Starmer and his vile party a message.  We would never advise you to vote for any particular party, just do what you feel is best placed to send that message.  England and the UK at large need a Labour government like a hole in the head.  Your vote can help put us on a path to freeing ourselves from Labour and with any luck, the Uniparty trap altogether.