Six council seats are being filled on Thursday, with three Labour defences, a Reform defence and two free-for-alls. Restore Britain are standing across all six vacancies, which is a first for them. Will this spell trouble for Reform and gift more victories to the Uniparty?
Results will appear below.
Huncoat, Hyndburn Borough Council
(Lab defence)
Triggered by the death of the 76-year-old incumbent, who was first elected for this ward way back in 1994. He stood down at the end of one of his terms in 2006, but returned to the same ward a year later in the 2007 local elections and remained a councillor until his death. The battle to succeed him has been mired in controversy. Labour selected a partially sighted candidate, who uses a cane, which led to her being labelled a 'Stevie Wonder lookalike' by one local Reform councillor. The councillor refused to apologise for his remark and went on the offensive, unveiling a whole host of derogatory online remarks by the Labour candidate. This included slights against trans, gay and obese people. Labour suspended the candidate as a result, but not before the nomination papers had gone in. This means that a Labour candidate will appear on the ballot paper, but if she wins she will enter the council house as an independent. However, because she is still listed as Labour on the ballot, a victory would technically go down as a Labour hold! She has a good chance of winning, as the only other left-wing party - the Greens - are not standing this time and she will go up against the Tories, Reform and Restore Britain. Reform won this ward in May this year, with more than twice the number of Labour votes.
Karl - Lab HOLD
Rich - Ref GAIN
Croft Baker, North East Lincolnshire Council
(Lab defence)
Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, due to an ongoing battle with cancer. Elected in 2024, she had been given special dispensation to excuse her from council meetings dating back to March 2025, on account of her cancer treatment. Reform thumped Labour in this ward back in May this year, as they won all but one of the 15 seats up for grabs. Only a third of seats were up for election, but Reform's sweeping victories left them as the largest group on the council and they went on to dislodge the incumbent Tory administration and lead the council as a minority administration. The curiously named Croft Baker ward actually includes Cleethorpes town centre and promenade. There are no Lib Dem or Trade Unionist candidates this Thursday, with Restore Britain the only newcomer.
Karl - Ref GAIN
Rich - Ref GAIN
Failsworth West, Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
(free-for-all, was Ind)
You may see this portrayed as a defence for Reform, but the incumbent was elected as an independent in 2024. A year later he joined Reform and went on to become their council group leader, with the party emerging from last May's elections as the second largest group behind Labour. He resigned his seat following a diagnosis for two potentially dangerous health conditions. Reform thumped Labour in this urban ward back in May this year, when a third of Oldham's council seats were up for election. Labour lost more than half the seats it was defending, plunging the council into chaos that continues to this day. Labour had led Oldham's council since 2011, including the last two years as a minority administration. However, the fairly even split between Labour and Reform following May's election has led to a stalemate as to who leads the council and Oldham still has no council leader six months on. The only changes on Thursday's ballot is the absence of an independent candidate and the addition of a Restore Britain candidate.
Karl - Lab GAIN
Rich - Ref GAIN
Cheddleton, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
(Lab defence)
Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, who is moving to York in order to work for Labour MP Luke Charters. He was elected in 2023, taking the second of three seats in this semi-rural ward. The first and third seats went to Conservative candidates. The 2023 election was the last fought here and the first time Labour emerged as the largest party since 1995. They edged out the Conservatives by two seats and formed a minority administration, although several defections since mean they are currently two seats behind the Tories. If Labour fall further behind on Thursday, there is no indication that the Tories will try and oust them, with all seats up for grabs next May anyway and the council being abolished altogether a year later. There were four independents on the Cheddleton ballot in 2023, none of whom are standing this time around. There will be a new independent, while Reform UK and Restore Britain also provide new entries.
Karl - Lab HOLD
Rich - Con GAIN
Bosmere, Suffolk County Council
(Ref defence)
Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent after just four months in the role. He had been elected to this mostly rural ward last May, in a gain from the Conservatives. Citing both work and family commitments as reasons for his departure, he stated that his main job sometimes required him to work away from home. Standing for public office should not be taken lightly, why did he not consider these complications prior to being nominated? In any case, he has presented his party with a tricky defence. Reform swept to power in Suffolk on May 7, taking outright control of a council that had been run by the Conservatives for the majority of its 52 year existence. Since then the Uniparty has been making a comeback and Reform won't be helped in this election by the presence of one solitary newcomer. That's right, Restore Britain will join the ballot paper on Thursday.
Karl - Con GAIN
Rich - Con GAIN
Hindley Green, Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council
(free-for-all, was Ind)
Triggered by the death of the 67-year-old incumbent, whose cause of death has not been disclosed. He had been a councillor in this suburban ward since 2004, when he was initially elected as a member of the Community Action Party. This little known outfit operated purely in four council authorities in the north west of England and folded in acrimony during the 2010s. The deceased left the party in 2007 and won every single successive election since then as an independent, most recently in 2023. He was due for re-election next May, with the other two seats in this ward going to Labour in 2024 and Reform last May. Reform won the seat comfortably over Labour, but once again they will be hindered by the presence of a Restore Britain candidate on Thursday. A new independent candidate also enters the fray. The ward sits on the eastern edge of Burnham's Makerfield constituency.
Karl - Lab GAIN
Rich - Ref GAIN
Karl leads Richey by a single point gong into this week's round of the head-to-head.
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