COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 18.09.25

Five seats were all being defended by the left on Thursday - four of which were Labour.  Labour managed to lose three of those four seats - one each to the Greens, Reform and an independent.  The one seat they held was by the narrowest of margins - just 13 votes ahead of the Lib Dems.

Reform picked up yet another seat in the red wall of south Wales, a key battleground as they look to emerge as the largest party in next May's Senedd elections.  Labour finished a humiliating third place in that Cardiff election.  Equally humiliating was a defeat in one of their London strongholds.  They were unseated by a Newham Independent on debut, who received more than double the Labour vote.  Newham is a council Labour have controlled since 1971 and held 58 of 66 seats.

The Greens capped off their Brighton gain from Labour with an easy hold in Warwick.

Queen's Park, Brighton and Hove City Council

Grn: 1,133 (48.4%) +19.9%

Lab: 729 (31.1%) -15.0%

Ref: 237 (10.1%) New

LDm: 98 (4.2%) +1.7%

Con: 82 (3.5%) -2.7%

Ind: 64 (2.7%) New

Grn GAIN from Lab

Trowbridge, Cardiff City Council

Ref: 1,142 (39.6%) New

LDm: 681 (23.6%) +15.9%

Lab: 615 (21.3%) -31.2%

Pld: 223 (7.7%) -3.5%

Con: 90 (3.1%) -14.8%

Grn: 67 (2.3%) -8.2%

Ppl: 63 (2.2%) -4.5%

Ref GAIN from Lab

Plaistow South, Newham London Borough Council

Ind: 913 (44.7%) New

Lab: 436 (21.4%) -34.0%

Ref: 328 (16.1%) New

Grn: 152 (7.4%) -8.4%

Con: 123 (6.0%) -11.5%

LDm: 90 (4.4%) -6.9%

Ind GAIN from Lab

Kenilworth Park Hill, Warwick District Council

Grn: 1,006 (40.3%) -7.2%

Con: 588 (23.6%) -4.0%

Ref: 447 (18.1%) New

LDm: 344 (13.9%) +2.2%

Lab: 81 (3.3%) -9.5%

Grn HOLD

Leamington Clarendon, Warwick District Council

Lab: 574 (30.3%) -21.4%

LDm: 561 (29.6%) +14.7%

Ref: 309 (16.3%) New

Grn: 240 (12.7%) -2.1%

Con: 140 (7.4 %) -9.2%

Ind: 72 (3.8%) New

Lab HOLD

Abbreviations

Grn = Green

Lab = Labour

Ref = Reform UK

LDm = Liberal Democrat

Con = Conservative

Pld = Plaid Cymu

Ppl = Propel

Ind = Independent