COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 12.03.26

Five seats were contested on Thursday, with this week's round being very much about the Lib Dems.  The party were defending three seats, all of which became vacant after the incumbents resigned.  Despite the resignations, we predicted three holds for the party.  Well, two out of three's not bad as the song goes.

The Lib Dems held in Cumbria and the Cotswolds, the latter featuring a particularly humiliating result for Labour who finished last with just seven votes.  Their third seat went to the Greens, who surged to victory in a middle class Liverpool suburb.  However, it was a mixed week for the new insurgents on the left.  

The swanky surroundings of Abingdon in Oxfordshire was the scene of another battle between the Lib Dems and Greens.  The Greens had won this seat previously when two seats were up for grabs, with the Lib Dems narrowly topping the poll.  The Greens would have fancied this one with all the media hype surrounding them.  However, as we predicted, the Lib Dems took the seat.  The Greens did not compete much beyond the two woke middle class seats, with finishes of 4/5, 4/7 and 3/4.

Finally, a local independent group slipped to defeat in Lincolnshire, a Reform gain as we predicted.  

Following last week's atrocious round of predictions - one out of five - we have returned to form this week with a more respectable four out of five.  Trumpet blown!

The Beeches, Cotswold District Council

LDm: 390 (52.7%) -3.0%

Ref: 168 (22.7%) New

Con: 122 (16.5%) -17.9%

Grn: 53 (7.2%) -3.0%

Lab: 7 (0.9%) New

LDm HOLD

Aigburth, Liverpool City Council

Grn: 782 (45.0%) +31.1%

LDm: 637 (36.7%) -13.6%

Lab: 177 (10.2%) -21.7%

Ref: 121 (7.0%) New

Ind: 12 (0.7%) New

Con: 8 (0.5%) -1.8%

Grn GAIN from LDm

Sleaford Westholme, North Kesteven District Council

Ref: 243 (45.1%) New

Ind: 87 (16.1%) -13.4%

Con: 81 (15.0%) New

Grn: 55 (10.2%) New

Ind: 49 (9.1%) -20.2%

Ind: 12 (2.2%) New

LDm: 12 (2.2%) New

Ref GAIN from Ind

Abingdon Abbey Northcourt, Vale of White Horse District Council

LDm: 647 (43.7%) +3.3%

Grn: 480 (32.5%) -2.1%

Ref: 204 (13.8%) New

Con: 101 (6.8%) -7.3%

Lab: 47 (3.2%) -7.7%

LDm GAIN from Grn

Penrith South, Westmorland and Furness Council

LDm: 749 (43.1%) -1.5%

Ref: 588 (33.9%) New

Grn: 225 (13.0%) +2.6%

Con: 174 (10.0%) -15.5%

LDm HOLD