It's four vacancies again this week, including a Nottinghamshire seat filled on the somewhat unorthodox polling day of Tuesday.
It was a bad week for the Greens as they lost two seats to the Uniparty, slumping to a distant third in one and getting smashed by more than a thousand votes in the other. With the big Holborn and St Pancras Westminster by-election in a few weeks, the bubble is bursting at the wrong time for Zack's crazy gang.
An impressive gain from the Greens asides, it was not a stunning week for Labour. However, they have still improved their performance from the bad old Starmer days, when double digit slumps in vote share were common place.
Wreake Valley, Charnwood Borough Council
Con: 1,091 (48.2%) +8.0%
Ref: 706 (31.2%) New
Grn: 372 (16.4%) -34.3%
Lab: 69 (3.1%) -6.0%
LDm: 24 (1.1%) New
Con GAIN from Grn
Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, due to ongoing health issues and 'changes in her personal circumstances'. She was elected in 2023, topping the poll in a clean sweep for the Greens as they took all three of this rural ward's seats following boundary changes. It was an odd result on Thursday, with both the Tories and Reform pushing the hard left Greens into distant third. There appeared to be a significant Green swing to Reform, but it was the Tories who topped the poll.
Karl - Grn HOLD ✘
Rich - Con GAIN ✔
Walkley, Sheffield City Council
Lab: 2,315 (53.4%) +14.4%
Grn: 1,249 (28.8%) -11.2%
Ref: 541 (12.5%) -1.6%
LDm: 112 (2.6%) -0.2%
Con: 59 (1.4%) -0.7%
TUS: 56 (1.3%) +0.3%
Lab GAIN from Grn
Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, just three months after he sensationally unseated the Labour council leader. It was a close fought contest on May 7, with the Green candidate winning by a narrow margin of 73 votes. However, it turned out to be another case of poor candidate selection on the part of the Greens. The new councillor stood down citing pressure and stress, as a direct result of what he called the 'huge weight of expectation and obligation'. Labour were looking to win the seat back from their Sheffield coalition partners and did so in style, smashing the Greens by over a thousand votes. There was no independent candidate this time.
Karl - Lab GAIN ✔
Rich - Lab GAIN ✔
Avondale & Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire Council
(first preference votes)
SNP: 1,025 (27.6%) -0.8%
Lab: 743 (20.0%) +0.2%
Ref: 727 (19.6%) New
Con: 393 (10.6%) -10.0%
Grn: 357 (8.2%) +1.8%
LDm: 357 (9.6%) New
Ind: 107 (2.9%) New
YrP: 45 (1.2%) New
ADF: 12 (0.3%) New
SNP GAIN from Ind (elected at stage 8)
Triggered by the death of the longstanding incumbent, following a lengthy illness. She had been elected as a Labour councillor in 2012, but left the party shortly after being re-elected in 2017. She was re-elected again in 2022, topping the poll on first preference votes. The ballot paper will be a crowded affair this time, with no less than five newcomers. There is no Alba candidate this time, with the party having folded earlier this year. It was an SNP gain on the night, with many stages of voting required until there was a run-off against Labour at stage 8 (the council erroneously declared it stage 9, which is an error as there weren't enough candidates for nine rounds). Corbyn's venture was propped up from the bottom by the Alliance for Democracy and Freedom.
Karl - Lab GAIN ✘
Rich - SNP GAIN ✔
East Markham, Bassetlaw District Council
Ref: 436 (49.6%) New
Con: 250 (28.4%) -37.6%
Lab: 151 (17.2%) -4.1%
Grn: 42 (4.8%) New
Ref GAIN from Con
Tuesday's action was triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, for undisclosed reasons. The Conservatives have held this single seat rural ward for almost the entirety of its existence, although the outgoing councillor served less than one term. He easily defeated second placed Labour in 2023, garnering more than three times their vote. The Lib Dems did not stand this time as Reform swept the Tories aside for an impressive gain.
Karl - Con HOLD ✘
Rich - Ref GAIN ✔
It was a clean sweep for Richey this week as he pushed even further ahead of Karl after week 15 of the head to head.
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