Five council contests are taking place on Thursday, with two defences each for Labour and Reform, plus one Tory defence.
Results will appear below.
Guston, Kingsdown & St Margaret's-at-Cliffe, Dover District Council
(Con defence)
Triggered by the retirement of the incumbent, who had served this ward since 2019. The Conservatives won both seats here in the 2023 election, but lost control of the council for the first time since 2007. Labour took a very slender majority, which was lost within two years following various resignations and defections. The slip into no overall control was caused by the defection of a Labour councillor to none other than the Conservatives. Labour continue to run the council as a minority administration, despite now having less council seats than the aforementioned Tories. There will be plenty of line-up changes on the ballot paper in this rural ward on Thursday - no Lib Dems or Heritage Party this time, with the addition of candidates from Reform, Restore Britain and an independent.
Karl - Ref GAIN
Rich - Ref GAIN
Throckley, Walbottle & Newburn, Newcastle City Council
(Ref defence)
Another week, another short-lived Reform councillor. The incumbent resigned two months after being elected on May 7, citing 'an abrupt change in her health, personal and work commitments'. That's quite a lot to change simultaneously. She had won the third seat here in May as Reform took all three of the ward's council seats following boundary changes. The ward in its previous format historically returned Labour councillors and the party will be looking to regain one of those seats on Thursday. The same five parties that fought here in May will do so again.
Karl - Ref HOLD
Rich - Lab GAIN
Southey, Sheffield City Council
(Lab defence)
Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, who had been sitting as an independent since April of this year. It is not clear why he left the Labour party, but he chose to stand down from the council altogether as a consequence of 'personal and family commitments'. Labour numbers on Sheffield City Council have been in gradual decline since 2012, when they held 60 seats. This has dropped to 25, while in the same period the Green party has gone from two seats to 20. These two competing left-wing outfits are currently administering Sheffield as a coalition authority. The incumbent in this ward won easily in 2024, finishing over a thousand votes ahead of the second placed Green. Things changed dramatically here in May, when it was Reform who surged over a thousand votes ahead of Labour. There will be no independent or Trade Unionist candidate this time, who between them scored almost 140 votes in May.
Karl - Ref GAIN
Rich - Ref GAIN
Rich - Ref GAIN
Billinge & Seneley Green, St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council
(Ref defence)
Another departing Reform councillor triggered this by-election after just two months in office. She cited 'personal reasons' for ending her short stint. Her party demolished Labour in St Helens on May 7, ending 16 years of outright Labour control and leaving them with just two seats. This will be Reform's second by-election defence since that day, having successfully defended the Haydock ward in June. Reform's candidate this Thursday has already come under fire for 'Islamophobic' and 'anti-vax' social media posts, so there is every chance the voters of this ward could go to the polls a third time this year if she wins and then throws in the towel. The only addition to the ballot paper this Thursday will be an independent candidate.
Karl - Ref HOLD
Rich - Ref HOLD
Trinity, Wandsworth London Borough Council
(Lab defence)
The resignation of the incumbent triggered this vacancy. She had been Labour's deputy group leader on the council, but there were conflicting reasons why she stood down. She claimed to have taken a 'politically restricted' job that would automatically require her to relinquish her council role, while almost simultaneously declaring that it was her pregnancy and family commitments that drove her decision. Either way, we have an intriguing contest between the red and blue half of the Uniparty. Up until this year, Wandsworth Council was controlled outright by either red or blue. On May 7, the council slipped into no overall control for the very first time, with the Conservatives taking over from Labour as a minority administration. The fairly even split of the council is reflected in this ward, which in May divided its two seats between Labour and the Tories. There will be no independent or Trade Unionist candidate this time.
Karl - Lab HOLD
Rich - Lab HOLD
Richey leads Karl by seven points going into this Thursday's round and not a lot is set to change as they have gone like for like with one exception. Can Karl claw one point back?
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