There were five council seats up for grabs on Thursday - two Labour defences, a defence each for the Greens and Conservatives, plus a free-for-all in Lincolnshire.
If recent weeks were about the Burnham bounce, this week was very much a Badenoch bounce. The Conservatives gained three of the five seats, while holding their solitary defence. Reform are now five weeks without a single election gain or hold.
Is the Uniparty well and truly back from the brink?
Saron, Carmarthernshire County Council
Pld: 397 (43.9%) +4.2%
Ref: 253 (28.0%) New
Lab: 159 (17.6%) -21.6%
Con: 44 (4.9%) New
Ind: 41 (4.5%) New
LDm: 11 (1.2%) -6.5%
Pld GAIN from Lab
Triggered by the death of the incumbent, who had served this rural ward in two separate spells dating back to 2004. No cause of death was provided, but the chap was clearly in his 70s judging by his council portrait. He lost his seat to Plaid Cymru in 2017, but regained it in 2022. Plaid again topped the poll in 2022 - albeit narrowly by eight votes - but he got himself ahead of their other candidate to take the second available seat. Despite the prevalence of the Welsh language in Carmarthenshire (or Sir Gaerfyrddin to give its Welsh name), Plaid have only briefly held outright control of the council - between 2022 and 2024 - and until Thursday had to rely on support from independents to run the council. Their gain here on Thursday gives them outright control, while Welsh Labour will be alarmed by their slide to third place behind newcomers Reform.
Karl - Pld GAIN ✔
Rich - Lab HOLD ✘
Hertford Kingsmead, East Herts District Council
Con: 575 (35.3%) +8.9%
Grn: 529 (32.4%) -4.4%
Ref: 253 (15.5%) New
Lab: 164 (10.1%) -5.8%
LDm: 110 (6.7%) -14.3%
Con GAIN from Grn
Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, who stood down for a variety of reasons. Her resignation letter bemoaned local government reforms and also personal abuse suffered in her role as planning officer. There appeared to be a general overall frustration with the workings of local government. She had been elected in the 2023 election as the third placed candidate alongside her two Green colleagues, as the party swept up all three seats in this ward on the eastern side of the county town. The Greens emerged from that election as the largest party on East Herts and they went on to form a coalition with the Lib Dems. That coalition will continue, despite Thursday's defeat to the Conservatives.
Karl - LDm GAIN ✘
Rich - Con GAIN ✔
Calverley & Farsley, Leeds City Council
Con: 2,330 (40.2%) +3.6%
Lab: 2,134 (36.8%) +9.5%
Ref: 693 (12.0%) -4.8%
Grn: 341 (5.9%) -10.4%
Res: 151 (2.6%) New
LDm: 92 (1.6%) -1.5%
Yrks: 57 (1.0%) New
Con GAIN from Lab
Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, due to both physical and mental health issues. He had served this semi-rural ward to the north of Leeds since 2018. However, it was the Tories who emerged victorious in this ward back in May this year, when a third of seats were up for election. Labour lost outright control of the council in that election, but continue to run it as a minority administration. Thursday's defeat to the Tories does not change that, as Labour remain far and away the largest party on the council. The Yorkshire Party - which campaigns for a devolved Yorkshire parliament and has no elected representatives anywhere - collected the wooden spoon.
Karl - Con GAIN ✔
Rich - Con GAIN ✔
Grantham St Wulfram's, South Kesteven District Council
Con: 437 (38.3%) +4.6%
Ref: 286 (25.1%) New
Ind: 149 (13.1%) New
Lab: 141 (12.4%) -3.8%
Grn: 74 (6.5%) -7.1%
Ind: 54 (4.7%) New
Con GAIN from Ind
Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, officially for 'personal reasons'. However, in a statement posted to social media, he had expressed frustration with the mechanics of local government. Perhaps his exasperation wasn't helped by the composition of the council, which is unusual in that it is controlled by a disparate bunch of independents - which included himself. The council had slumped into no overall control in 2023, ending twenty years of outright Tory control. Thursday's action took place in the birthplace of Margaret Thatcher and she would have been pleased to see her party regain a seat on the council in this free-for-all contest on Thursday. The Lib Dems did not field a candidate this time (they finished fourth last time, with 135 votes).
Karl - Con GAIN ✔
Rich - Ind GAIN ✘
Hartlebury, Wychavon District Council
Con: 315 (49.9%) -7.6%
Ref: 238 (37.7%) New
Lab: 78 (12.4%) New
Con HOLD
Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, who stood down prior to disqualification for not having attended a single council meeting in six months. He had been elected in 2023, the last time voters went to the polls in this rural ward to the south of Kidderminster. He received 444 votes in a four way contest against a Green (157), a Lib Dem (122) and an independent (49). On Thursday the Tory candidate looking to replace him will be up against just two candidates - both of whom new entries - Labour and Reform. The Conservatives have controlled Wychavon since 1999 and that won't change were they to lose this seat.
Karl - Con HOLD ✔
Rich - Ref GAIN ✘
Karl bested Richey for the fourth week in a row, cutting Richey's lead to just a single point.
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