COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 16.07.26

We had a county-wide election this week, but it wasn't for the council.  The position of Police and Crime Commissioner in Norfolk was up for grabs...

Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner

Colin Sutton (Ref) 32,647 (26.7%) New

Matthew Taylor (Con) 18,348 (15.0%) -18.9%

Martin Schmierer (Grn) 16,907 (13.8%) -2.0%

Marcus Pearcey (Ind) 16,402 (13.4%) New

Beth Jones (Lab) 14,192 (11.6%) -23.6%

Mark Buckton (Res) 13,319 (10.9%) New

Christopher Brown (LDm) 10,499 (8.6%) -6.5%

Ref GAIN from Lab

Labour won this election in 2024, with a relatively narrow victory over the Conservatives.  This time the result wasn't even close and Labour crashed to fifth.  Police and Crime Commissioners are being abolished in two years time, with the responsibilities being transferred into the remit of elected mayors.  This announcement last year led to a backlash from Norfolk's PCC, who quit Labour in anguish, accusing the government of a 'lack of consultation'.  She continued in the role as an independent, before vacating the post last month due to a family illness.  She also left her role as a district councillor (see below).  There were a few new faces on the PCC ballot paper this time, all stumping up £500 for the privilege.  All four parties saved their deposits last time, as it proved this time around - every single candidate surpassed the required five per cent mark in order to get their deposit back.  This included Restore Britain, who were hoping for a decent result as Rupert Lowe's constituency falls entirely within the catchment area.  Any hopes they may have had of denting Reform's chances were not realised, as Reform won with an impressive majority of 14,299 (compared to Labour's 1,888 majority in 2024).  Reform's first ever PCC is highly respected former detective Colin Sutton, who led various high profile murder investigations during a long career.  This has been a costly election to the taxpayer, with a bill of £2million that on a 17.1 per cent turnout worked out at more than £16 per vote!

Karl - Con GAIN ✘
Rich - Ref GAIN ✔

There were also eight council seats to be decided this week, all of which fell inside England and all but one sit across a central belt from Staffordshire in the west to Norfolk in the east.  The only exception is a seat in the Rushmoor borough of Hampshire.

Dereham Toftwood, Breckland District Council

Con: 458 (45.8%) -1.7%

Ref: 369 (36.9%) New

Lab: 172 (17.2%) -35.3%

Con GAIN from Lab

Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, who simultaneously vacated her post as Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner (see above).  This ward was a straight head-to-head last time between Labour and the Conservatives.  Reform had won all three of the previous council by-elections held in Breckland, but their Turkish candidate could not persuade enough voters in this semi-rural ward to swing it for her party.  She did however enjoy a huge swing from Labour that dumped the incumbent party in last place and delivered a Conservatives gain.

Karl - Ref GAIN ✘

Rich - Con GAIN ✔

Ramsey & Bury, Cambridgeshire County Council

Ref: 506 (29.7%) -17.3%

Ind: 417 (24.5%) New

Con: 412 (24.2%) -5.2%

LDm: 126 (7.4%) +0.6%

Grn: 123 (7.2%) +1.2%

Lab: 118 (6.9%) -4.0%

Ref HOLD

Reform gained this seat from the Conservatives in last year's local elections, but the winner recently stood down, citing 'personal circumstances'.  Last year's defeated Conservative sought to get her former seat back at this by-election, but slipped to third place.  She was narrowly beaten by an independent, who took a significant swing from Reform.  Labour finished third here last year, but collect the wooden spoon this time around.  No Burnham bounce here!

Karl - Con GAIN ✘

Rich - Ref HOLD ✔

Kidlington West, Cherwell District Council

LDm: 1,028 (58.8%) +13.7%

Ref: 331 (18.9%) -4.3%

Con: 232 (13.2%) -4.1%

Grn: 158 (9.0%) -5.4%

LDm HOLD

Triggered by the resignation of the Lib Dem incumbent, who gained this seat from the Conservatives in 2021.  She resigned for 'personal reasons', primarily to spend more time with her family.  The Lib Dems were very keen to hold here, as their coalition majority hung by a thread.  They did so with ease, garnering three times as many votes as second placed Reform, while their coalition partners the Greens picked up the wooden spoon.

Karl - LDm HOLD ✔

Rich - LDm HOLD ✔

Old Catton, Norfolk County Council

Con: 973 (34.6%) +8.5%

Grn: 921 (32.7%) +14.0%

Ref: 561 (19.9%) -10.1%

Lab: 147 (5.2%) -10.6%

LDm: 100 (3.6%) -5.6%

Res: 98 (3.5%) New

Loon: 13 (0.5%) New

Con GAIN from Ref

Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent less than four weeks after he was elected in May, citing 'poor health'.  Did he not expect to win?  A very poor show that left his colleague with what turned out to be an insurmountable task of holding the seat.  The former Conservative councillor selected by Reform was heavily defeated by her old party, while the Greens pushed her into third.  This was the first ever local election fought in the name of Restore Britain, but it was disastrous.  Their candidate pulled out shortly after the nomination papers were handed in, but it was too late to remove his name from the ballot paper.  It's not going well is it, Rupert?

Karl - Grn GAIN ✘

Rich - Con GAIN ✔

Fletton & Woodston, Peterborough City Council

Grn: 664 (41.2%) +3.4%

Ref: 479 (29.7%) +2.9%

Lab: 213 (13.2%) +3.7%

Con: 208 (12.9%) -3.2%

LDm: 37 (2.3%) New

YrP: 11 (0.7%) New

Grn GAIN from Lab

As often tends to be the case with the Banana Republic of Peterborough, this by-election was mired in controversy before a single vote had been cast.  Triggered by the resignation of a young native lady who was elected as a Labour councillor in the 2024 elections, she quit the party a year later after accusing her comrades of 'sustained bullying and marginalisation'.  Why was she targeted?  She simply called for CCTV to be installed in the city's taxis.  This led to her facing accusations of 'racism' from Muslim comrades, who also tarred her family with the same brush.  In resigning her seat recently, she accused the council of 'systemic cover-ups', which Labour's Muslim council leader denied.  As Peterborough wards go, this one is not overtly Muslim, but it did opt for the Greens in May.  An independent candidate who stood here in that election dropped out, while there was a rare outing for the Fruit and Nutters.  The Corbyn shitshow finished last with just 11 votes, while the party that stole their far left thunder roared into the lead and garnered more than three times the number of votes received by Labour.

Karl - Ref GAIN ✘

Rich - Grn GAIN ✔

Wellington, Rushmoor Borough Council

Lab: 408 (42.1%) +9.2%

Con: 199 (20.5%) -3.0%

Ref: 196 (20.2%) -7.5%

Grn: 118 (12.2%) New

LDm: 49 (5.1%) New

Lab HOLD

The retirement of the Labour incumbent triggered this contest.  He had served as a Rushmoor councillor on and off since 1976 and his successor scored an impressive hold for a party that is not used to expanding their vote share and moving further ahead of their rivals.  An independent candidate who stood here in May did not stand this time.  This area was historically a Conservative stronghold, but this all changed in 2024 when Labour took control of the council and won the local Aldershot Westminster constituency for the first time in history.  Labour lost outright control of the council following several defections last year, but they remain the largest party and run it as a minority administration.

Karl - Ref GAIN ✘

Rich - Ref GAIN ✘

Himley & Swindon, South Staffordshire District Council

Con: 298 (43.2%) -21.0%

Ref: 187 (27.1%) New

Ind: 129 (18.7%) New

Lab: 28 (4.1%) New

Grn: 22 (3.2%) New

Ind: 16 (2.3%) -12.0%

LDm: 10 (1.4%) -20.0%

Con HOLD

Triggered by the death of the 82-year-old Tory incumbent, who had been council leader as recently as 2024.  He was re-elected to this ward in 2023, having bested the only two other candidates - a Lib Dem and an independent.  It was a much more crowded ballot paper this time and the votes were dispersed very thinly in this sparsely populated ward on the edge of the Black Country.  The Conservatives managed to hold off Reform by more than 100 votes.

Karl - Con HOLD ✔

Rich - Ref GAIN ✘

Manor, Stafford Borough Council

Lab: 481 (36.2%) -19.6%

Ref: 414 (31.2%) New

Con: 237 (17.8%) -11.6%

Grn: 197 (14.8%) n/c

Lab HOLD

As with the previous seat, this was triggered by the death of the 82-year-old incumbent.  The longstanding councillor had been re-elected most recently in 2023, when she topped the poll with both ward seats up for grabs.  She and her Labour colleague easily saw off the Conservatives, while a solitary Green candidate collected the wooden spoon.  The Greens finished last again this time, while there was a significant swing from both Labour and the Conservatives to Reform.

Karl - Ref GAIN ✘

Rich - Ref GAIN ✘

Richey has extended his lead further, with Karl suffering another poor performance.  Karl has now dropped below the 50 per cent accuracy rate and at best can only close the gap next week as there are only five by-elections.

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 09.07.26

14 vacant seats were up for grabs on Thursday, with a further two having been decided earlier this week on the somewhat unorthodox polling day of Tuesday.  The contests were once again fairly spread out across the country, with four in south Wales, three in north Wales, three in London and one each in Scotland, the north east, Midlands and East Anglia.

It was also a variety of defences and free-for-alls.  The Greens were defending all three London vacancies, on account of poor candidate vetting which ended up costing them two of the three.  The Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru were also defending three each, Labour two, Reform one and there were also two free-for-alls triggered by outgoing independents.

It was a mixed week for Labour as lost a seat, held one and gained one.  Their vote share was down in nine of the seats the party contested, against an increase in three.  This is still an improvement on much of the Starmer era, during which they struggled to hold seats and saw vote shares routinely collapsing  by more than 20 percentage points. They finished bottom of the pile in two seats, while the Greens collected the wooden spoon in three.  The Greens appear to have slumped back down to where they were before their media-sponsored boom and are once again vying for fourth place in national polls with the Lib Dems.

Regent's Park, Camden London Borough Council

Lab: 574 (32.4%) -0.4%

Grn: 482 (27.2%) -11.1%

Ind: 407 (22.9%) New

Con: 137 (7.7%) -1.5%

Ref: 123 (6.9%) -5.0%

LDm: 51 (2.9%) -3.5%

Lab GAIN from Grn

The first of three London by-elections triggered in humiliating fashion by the Greens.  In this seat they fielded an ineligible winning candidate on May 7, who was unable to take up his new council role as he was already employed by the council as a secondary school teacher.  This is the second by-election the party have caused in this way, having selected a primary school teacher who won in Hackney, also on May 7.  They narrowly held the resulting by-election last month.  While much attention in previous years has been given (quite rightly) to the poor vetting of Reform candidates, not so much attention has been drawn to the shoddy vetting of Zack's crazy gang.  The National Housing Party, who fought this ward in May, dropped out for the by-election.  Only three of the six candidates had Western European names and the winning candidate was Nanouche Umeadi for Labour.

Karl - Grn HOLD ✘

Rich - Lab GAIN ✔

Splott, Cardiff Council

Lab: 765 (40.3%) +6.3%

Grn: 678 (35.7%) +18.4%

Ref: 286 (15.1%) +2.1%

LDm: 114 (6.0%) -8.0%

Con: 54 (2.8%) n/c

Lab HOLD

Triggered by the election of the incumbent to the Senedd on May 7, one of just nine Labour MSs elected across the whole of Wales.  He had been Cardiff council leader for nine years, but is still undoubtedly most famous for his comments about people flying the Cross of St George - who he described as 'simpletons', 'casual racists' and advised friends to throw Tipp-Ex on cars that displayed the flag.  Just typical of the university-educated bourgeois snobs that dominate the modern Labour party.  The previous election here was a by-election in December 2024, when Labour's majority was slashed by almost 1,200 votes.  Plaid Cymru and Propel did not stand candidates this time, and the absence of the former appears to have benefited Labour.  Labour increased their vote share, but the Greens surged into second place to keep Labour's majority in check.

Karl - Grn GAIN ✘

Rich - Lab HOLD ✔

Argoed & New Brighton, Flintshire County Council

LDm: 614 (39.8%) +3.8%

Ref: 490 (31.7%) New

Pld: 191 (12.4%) -2.3%

Con: 113 (7.3%) New

Lab: 113 (7.3%) -17.2%

Grn: 23 (1.5%) -8.8%

LDm HOLD

The death of the 76-year-old incumbent triggered this contest.  The Lib Dems won both seats here back in 2022, with Labour a fairly distant second.  Labour crashed to fifth on this occasion, with only the Greens preventing them from collecting the wooden spoon.  It was an impressive new entry by Reform who replaced Labour in the runner up position.  An independent candidate picked up 341 votes in 2022, but did not stand this time.

Karl - LDm HOLD ✔

Rich - LDm HOLD ✔

Connah's Quay Central, Flintshire County Council

Ref: 256 (48.1%) New

Lab: 101 (19.0%) -15.1%

Pld: 71 (13.3%) New

Ind: 59 (11.1%) New

Con: 21 (3.9%) New

Ind: 13 (2.1%) New

Grn: 11 (2.4%) New

Ref GAIN from Ind

The resignation of the controversial incumbent led to this vacancy.  An ex-Labour councillor, he quit the party in 2019 after an internal row, but went on to be re-elected in 2022 as an independent.  In 2024 he was suspended by the council for four months after 'sending sexual messages to a vulnerable resident'.  He was later readmitted, but has now retired due to ill health.  Back in 2022 only Labour and independents stood here, but we had a much more crowded ballot paper this time, topped by Reform in an impressive gain at the first time of asking.

Karl - Ind GAIN ✘

Rich - Ref GAIN ✔

High Fell, Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council

Ref: 564 (40.1%) -4.9%

Lab: 559 (39.7%) +11.2%

LDm: 98 (7.0%) -2.2%

Con: 79 (5.6%) New

Grn: 71 (5.0%) -8.7%

TUS: 36 (2.6%) -1.0%

Ref HOLD

Reform swept to power in Gateshead on May 7, a council that Labour had controlled for the entirety of its 52 year existence.  In High Fell the party won all three seats, but just 11 days later the second placed candidate resigned unexpectedly - citing 'work commitments'.  The new Reform council pledged to mitigate the roughly £20,000 cost of the resulting by-election by having one of its cabinet members forgo their council-funded allowance.  Honourable, but a bit harsh if you're the member earmarked for that loss!  Reform took a bit of a hit regardless, but clung on by the slender margin of just five votes.

Karl - Lab GAIN ✘

Rich - Ref HOLD ✔

Llanrug, Cyngor Gwynedd Council

Ind: 394 (57.4%) New

Pld: 262 (38.2%) -61.8%

Ref: 17 (2.5%) New

Con: 6 (0.9%) New

Grn: 4 (0.6%) New

LDm: 3 (0.4%) New

Ind GAIN from Pld

Triggered by the election of the Plaid incumbent to the Senedd on May 7.  She was re-elected unopposed to this ward in 2022, which is situated in one of the most predominantly Welsh-speaking communities in the country.  Voters certainly had a choice this time around, but it was an independent who triumphed in a shock gain from the fake nationalists.

Karl - Pld HOLD ✘

Rich - Pld HOLD ✘

Clapham Park, Lambeth London Borough Council

Grn: 842 (43.8%) +11.6%

Lab: 799 (41.5%) +5.7%

LDm: 108 (5.6%) -4.5%

Con: 85 (4.4%) -4.2%

Ref: 71 (3.7%) -2.9%

CPA: 12 (0.6%) New

Soc: 6 (0.3%) New

Grn HOLD

Another London Green shitshow.  With all three seats up for grabs on May 7, the top two spots went to Labour candidates, while the third went to a Green candidate who resigned just 11 days later.  She cited 'ill health' that would not allow her to 'do the job justice'.  She clearly did not expect to win and it has cost local taxpayers tens of thousands to replace her.  The SDP contested this seat in May, but are absent this time, passing their wooden spoon to one of the newcomers.  The race to avoid last place was a straight fight between the right-wing Christian Peoples Alliance and the far left Socialist Party of Great Britain.  The Marxists won't be happy with the outcome, with the CPA garnering twice their vote - 12 in all!  The Greens increased their vote share, despite triggering a contest that should have been avoided.

Karl - Lab GAIN ✘

Rich - Lab GAIN ✘

Streatham St Leonard's, Lambeth London Borough Council

LDm: 1,161 (41.7%) +26.4%

Grn: 972 (35.0%) -12.5%

Lab: 421 (15.1%) -7.8%

Con: 119 (4.3%) -3.1%

Ref: 71 (2.6%) -4.2%

CPA: 37 (1.3%) New

LDm GAIN from Grn

Probably the most serious Green vetting disaster yet, with two candidates arrested during the local election campaign on suspicion of 'stirring up racial hatred'.  The party suspended one of its candidates in this ward, but it was too late to take her off the ballot paper and she ended up picking up the third council seat in a Green clean sweep.  This was despite Labour having desperately drawn attention to the anti-Semitic social media posts that led to her arrest.  She quickly vacated her seat following the election, creating another costly embarrassment for the Greens in London.  They chose not to select a Muslim candidate for the by-election, but it was a lost cause as the Lib Dems surged from third to first.

Karl - Lab GAIN ✘

Rich - Grn HOLD ✘

Trebanos, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council

Pld: 223 (51.1%) -18.3%

Ref: 88 (20.2%) New

LDm: 77 (17.7%) New

Lab: 37 (8.5%) -22.1%

Con: 7 (1.6%) New

Grn: 4 (0.9%) New

Pld HOLD

Triggered by the election of the Plaid incumbent to the Senedd on May 7.  She was re-elected to this ward in the 2022 local elections, in a straight head-to-head with Labour.  That election saw Labour lose control of the council for the first time ever, as it slipped into no overall control.  It is currently run by a minority coalition of Plaid and independents.  This by-election presented a routine hold for Plaid, despite a plummeting vote share.  Yet another wooden spoon for Zack's crazy gang - four votes!

Karl - Pld HOLD ✔

Rich - Pld HOLD ✔

Suffield Park, North Norfolk Districk Council

LDm: 485 (65.4%) +4.3%

Ref: 136 (18.3%) New

Con: 88 (11.9%) -14.1%

Grn: 20 (2.7%) -2.9%

Lab: 13 (1.8%) -5.6%

LDm HOLD

The Lib Dem incumbent recently moved to Poland, triggering this by-election.  The seaside resort of Cromer that hosted this contest has become fairly solid ground for the Lib Dems and it was a simple hold for them.  They held this seat in 2023 with more than double the vote of the second placed Conservatives, but it was Reform who finished runners-up on this occasion.  

Karl - LDm HOLD ✔

Rich - LDm HOLD ✔

Pembroke Dock Market, Pembrokeshire County Council

Con: 143 (36.0%) New

Ind: 100 (25.2%) New

Pld: 79 (19.9%) New

Ref: 48 (12.1%) New

Ind: 11 (2.8%) New

LDm: 9 (2.3%) New

Ind: 7 (1.8%) New

Con GAIN from Ind

This free-for-all was triggered by the death of the longstanding 78-year-old incumbent.  He was re-elected unopposed in 2022, but it was a busy ballot to succeed him.  They like their independents in these parts, with the council having been governed by independents for the entirety of its 30 year existence.  However, this contest went to the Conservatives, despite the presence of no less than three independents.  One of the independents is reportedly affiliated to Restore Britain, but did not stand under that banner, which is probably just as well considering he has a criminal record and was previously disqualified from public office.  He received 11 votes.

Karl - Ind GAIN ✘

Rich - Ref GAIN ✘

Larkhall, South Lanarkshire Council

(first preference votes)

Ref: 1,150 (35.2%) New

SNP: 975 (29.9%) +1.0%

Lab: 799 (24.5%) -8.5%

Con: 342 (10.5%) -14.0%

Ref GAIN from Lab (elected at stage 4)

Triggered by the death of the Labour incumbent.  She was narrowly re-elected to this ward in 2022, collecting the fourth available council seat after no less than nine rounds of the single transferable vote system.  Her Labour colleague topped the poll on first preferences, while the other two seats went to the Conservatives and SNP.  Prior to this election, Labour were evenly split with the SNP in terms of council representation at 25 seats apiece, but it's Labour that lead the minority administration alongside a handful of Lib Dems and independents.  There were no Libertarian or UKIP candidates this time and, embarrassingly, the Labour candidate resorted to a crowdfunding site to fund his campaign.  A wee bit of party support would have probably had only a negligable bearing on his dreadful third place.  A stunning gain for Reform, which is sure to wind up the left-wing establishment north of the border.

Karl - Lab HOLD ✘

Rich - Con GAIN ✘

Kinwarton, Stratford-upon-Avon District Council

Con: 507 (36.4%) +2.9%

LDm: 500 (35.9%) -20.8%

Ref: 231 (16.6%) New

Grn: 128 (9.2%) +6.0%

Lab: 28 (2.0%) -4.7%

Con GAIN from LDm

Another globetrotting Lib Dem was responsible for this vacancy, having relocated to Australia.  The Lib Dems won here by a reasonable margin in 2023, following boundary changes.  The Conservatives finished second on that occasion, but appeared to have been aided by the injection of a Reform candidate this time.  A significant and highly unusual swing from the Lib Dems to Reform allowed the Tories to take first place by the slender margin of seven votes.

Karl - Ref GAIN ✘

Rich - LDm HOLD ✘

Baruc, Vale of Glamorgan Council

Pld: 856 (47.7%) +11.2%

Ref: 429 (23.9%) New

Con: 219 (12.2%) -8.2%

Lab: 179 (10.0%) -15.1%

Grn: 90 (5.0%) -13.1%

LDm: 23 (1.3%) New

Pld HOLD

Another vacancy arising from the incumbent's election to the Senedd on May 7.  Despite being situated in the predominantly English-speaking town of Barry, this ward routinely returns Plaid councillors and the party led second-placed Labour in 2022 by a decent margin.  Plaid managed to hold with an increased majority - almost twice the votes of second placed Reform - while Labour crashed to fourth, indicative of their overall decline across Wales.

Karl - Pld HOLD ✔

Rich - Pld HOLD ✔

The following contests were held earlier this week, on Tuesday, both stemming from the death of the same councillor.

Haslemere, Surrey County Council

LDm: 1,181 (47.8%) -5.4%

Con: 797 (32.3%) -10.7%

Grn: 280 (11.3%) New

Ref: 213 (8.6%) New

LDm HOLD

Triggered by the sudden death of the incumbent, aged 78.  The Lib Dem councillor had a long career in local government, including spells as mayor of the town of Haslemere and the borough of Waverley.  He also represented the ward of Haslemere West on Waverley Council, triggering an additional by-election (see below).  There hasn't been an election here since 2021, because the county council is being abolished next year and split into two entities.  Labour finished a distant last here in 2021 and did not bother to contest this time.  The Lib Dem and Tory vote share took a hit with new entries from the Greens and Reform.

Karl - Con GAIN ✘

Rich - LDm HOLD ✔

Haslemere West, Waverley Borough Council

LDm: 551 (58.6%) -5.4%

Grn: 164 (17.4%) New

Con: 141 (15.0%) -7.0%

Ref: 84 (8.9%) New

LDm HOLD

Triggered by the death of the incumbent, who also represented Haslemere on Surrey County Council (see above).  Labour finished last here in 2023 and didn't contest this time.  Again, there was a swing to the incoming Greens and Reform from both the Lib Dems and Tories, but not enough to dramatically alter the outcome.

Karl - LDm HOLD ✔

Rich - LDm HOLD ✔

Karl led Richey by two points going into week 8 of their head to head, which closed to one point following Tuesday's double bill.  Their accuracy rate on Thursday wasn't great, but Richey stunned Karl by correctly predicting twice as many results as his opponent.  Richey now leads Karl for the first time, while their combined accuracy rate remains above the 50 per cent mark.

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 22.01.26

Five seats were contested on Thursday, with two additional by-elections held in Derbyshire on Tuesday.  In those earlier elections, the Greens finally got a result they could truly celebrate, with an impressive gain from Reform.  Tuesday was a mixed evening for Reform, with the party gaining from Labour in the other seat.  These were also the first electoral outings for Ben Habib's Advance UK, with mixed results.  They did not have a particularly damaging effect on Reform in either seat, but this could change over time.

Labour lost to Reform again on Thursday, losing a seat in north Wales.  Their vote share was down across the board, finishing last in Norfolk and pushed into distant third by Reform in an embarrassing result north of the border.

Despite their gain on Tuesday, the Greens failed to impress elsewhere and their vote share was down in the four other seats the party contested.  This included two wooden spoons that included a particularly disastrous result in which they lost a seat to the Lib Dems.

It was a better week for the Tories, despite the notion of their looming demise gaining traction.  They managed to hold onto two seats, in spite of a decreased vote share in both.  Straws clutched.

Willaston & Thornton, Cheshire West and Chester Council

Con: 997 (53.8%) -7.1%

Lab: 318 (17.2%) -9.3%

Ref: 299 (16.1%) New

LDm: 132 (7.1%) +2.4%

Grn: 107 (5.8%) -2.2%

Con HOLD

The Rissingtons, Cotswold District Council

LDm: 321 (37.5%) New

Con: 268 (31.3%) -11.5%

Ref: 221 (25.8%) New

Grn: 47 (5.5%) -51.7%

LDm GAIN from Grn

Glenrothes West & Kinglassie, Fife Council

(first preference votes)

SNP: 1,167 (44.3%) -5.3%

Ref: 725 (27.5%) New

Lab: 413 (15.7%) -16.8%

Con: 182 (6.9%) -4.7%

LDm: 125 (4.7%) +0.9%

SFP: 25 (0.9%) New

SNP HOLD

Leeswood, Flintshire County Council

Ref: 160 (22.3%) New

Ind: 138 (19.2%) -5.6%

Ind: 135 (18.8%) +4.3%

Lab: 87 (12.1%) -48.5%

Ind: 79 (11.0%) New

LDm: 68 (9.5%) New

Con: 34 (4.7%) New

Ind: 17 (2.4%) New

Ref GAIN from Lab

Central Wymondham, South Norfolk District Council

Con: 545 (31.1%) -4.6%

Grn: 454 (25.9%) -3.7%

Ref: 363 (20.7%) +15.1%

LDm: 211 (12.0%) New

Lab: 182 (10.4%) -18.8%

Con HOLD

The following contests were held on Tuesday.

Codnor, Langley Mill & Aldercar, Amber Valley Borough Council

Ref: 595 (45.6%) +24.1%

Lab: 249 (19.1%) -20.8%

Adv: 161 (12.3%) New

Con: 130 (10.0%) -15.3%

Grn: 77 (5.9%) -5.5%

Ind: 50 (3.8%) New

LDm: 42 (3.2%) New

Ref GAIN from Lab

Horsley, Derbyshire County Council

Grn: 1,341 (43.6%) +16.7%

Ref: 1,091 (35.5%) +0.6%

Con: 426 (13.9%) -8.9%

Lab: 116 (3.8%) -6.5%

Adv: 57 (1.9%) New

LDm: 43 (1.4%) -2.0%

Grn GAIN from Ref

Abbreviations

Con = Conservative

Lab = Labour

Ref = Reform UK

LDm = Liberal Democrat

Grn = Green

SNP = Scottish National Party

SFP = Scottish Family Party

Adv = Advance UK

Ind = Independents and local groups

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 27.11.25

A trio of seats were up for grabs on Thursday, including a Labour defence in what would normally be considered solid Labour territory in Sunderland.  We saw this as a likely gain for the returning independent, who finished second last time around.  Instead, Reform surged from a distant third to easily take the seat from Labour with a huge swing from the defending party.  Labour crashed to third with more than half the votes received by the Reform candidate.

Reform also picked up an independent seat in Norfolk and finished runners-up in Lancashire.  Labour, meanwhile, finished last in both elections.

Hunstanton, Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk

Ref: 368 (29.2%) New

LDm: 322 (25.6%) New

Ind: 229 (18.2%) ‑11.0%

Con: 224 (17.8%) ‑23.0%

Ind:77 (6.1%) New

Lab: 40 (3.2%) ‑21.0%

Ref GAIN from Ind

Barnoldswick, Pendle Borough Council

LDm: 1,008 (59.8%) +1.5%

Ref: 441 (26.2%) New

Con: 170 (10.1%) -11.7%

Lab: 66 (3.9%) -11.1%

LDm HOLD

Hetton, Sunderland City Council

Ref: 1,270 (46.3%) +35.4%

Ind: 689 (25.1%) -4.0%

Lab: 611 (22.3%) -24.4%

LDm: 113 (4.1%) +1.6%

Con: 61 (2.2%) -3.6%

Ref GAIN from Lab

CLIVE'S GOING NOWHERE

Labour's Clive Lewis has told the Beeb's Politics Live that he is prepared to give up his Norwich South seat to allow Andy Burnham a route back into the Commons in order to challenge Keir Starmer for the party leadership.  It's an open secret that the Mayor of Greater Manchester would like to dislodge Starmer, but an endorsement from Lewis - who is on the hard left of the party - is somewhat odd.  On paper Burnham does not represent anything that would appeal to Labour's Socialist Campaign Group, of which Lewis is a member.  A successful Burnham challenge would simply mean replacing one globalist Blairite clone with another.

Watch the clip below.

While his overtures to Burnham are at odds with his place on the political spectrum, the reality is that Clive is going nowhere.  Are we to believe that an MP of ten years, with up to four more years left of his current term, is going to give up his seat on the Westminster gravy train?  Is Clive Lewis the man who will put honour back into honourable member?

Highly doubtful.  He knows full well there is no likelihood of the so-called 'King in the North' parachuting into Norfolk.  Even in the event Lewis did stand down and Burnham went for it, the mayor would still have to go through the selection process.  He would be humiliated if the local CLP rejected him and it would also render Lewis's own resignation pointless.

In any case, Clive has already backed down from what he now says was a response to a 'hypothetical question'.  He has told The Sun's political editor: “I have no plans to stand down.  A hypothetical question was put to me, and my answer was consistent with what I have been saying – that I am serious about putting country before party.”

Serious, except when he offered a rather straightforward answer to a question of vacating the gravy train.  No, he's not at all serious then.

The challenge to Starmer - when it comes - will not come from Burnham, but from within the House of Commons.  Rumblings on the back benches and the front will grow stronger as Starmer faces multiple hurdles in the next six months.  There's the Budget, the local elections, opposition to digital ID and a certain court case in April concerning the activities of three 'aspiring male models' from eastern Europe...

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 25.09.25

Five by-elections were held this week, including a rare Wednesday contest.  That early election was this week's only Labour defence and, once again, they lost to Reform.  The other four seats were all being defended by leftists - three Green and one SNP.

The Greens held south of the border, despite a double digit drop in vote share.  Intriguingly, there appeared to be a significant swing to newcomers Reform, who came second in both seats.

In the Highlands, the Greens did not contest a seat they had previously won unopposed.  It was a busy field to replace the outgoing Green, at odds with the Greens' apparent inability to locate a candidate of their own.  An independent ended up victorious, while it was the Lib Dems who emerged winners in the other seat, taking advantage of the SNP's fall from grace.

Rolvenden & Tenterden West, Ashford Borough Council

Grn: 262 (36.5%) -16.9%

Ref: 227 (31.6%) New

Con: 200 (27.9%) -10.3%

LDm: 19 (2.6%) New

Lab: 10 (1.4%) -7.0%

Grn HOLD

Tain & Easter Ross, Highland Council

(first preference votes)

LDm: 935 (38.8%) +13.8%

Ind: 686 (28.4%) New

SNP: 356 (14.8%) -10.6%

Ref: 312 (12.9%) New

Grn: 78 (3.2%) -0.4%

Con: 45 (1.9%) -3.5%

LDm GAIN from SNP (elected stage 6)

Caol & Mallaig, Highland Council

(first preference votes)

Ind: 867 (36.3%)

Ind: 723 (30.3%)

LDm: 404 (16.9%)

SNP: 207 (8.7%)

Ref: 116 (4.9%)

Ind: 30 (1.3%)

Lab: 25 (1.0%)

Con: 18 (0.8%)

Ind GAIN from Grn (elected stage 8, Grn previously elected unopposed)

Woodhouse Park, Manchester City Council

Grn: 826 (43.8%) -15.4%

Ref: 556 (29.5%) New

Lab: 386 (20.5%) -12.9%

Con: 72 (3.8%) -1.1%

LDm: 47 (2.5%) -0.2%

Grn HOLD

Thetford Castle, Breckland District Council

(held on Wednesday)

Ref: 512 (47.3%) New

Lab: 289 (26.7%) -22.7%

Con: 164 (15.1%) -18.6%

LDm: 118 (10.9%) New

Ref GAIN from Lab

WOKE WEDNESDAYS #36

Last month the approach to London's Wembley Stadium was decked out in 60 foot long rainbow colours - not the traditional 'Pride flag', but the dystopian Alphabet flag aka the 'Progress Pride flag'.  The flags  were hung either side of the road as far as the eye could see, making sure that no-one could fail to realise it was 'Pride Month'.

No-one caused a fuss, the local council just got on with their leftist display and the masses tolerated it.

Cut to the sleepy village of Claxton in Norfolk, population just 298 and dare we say it's probably near enough 100 per cent British born and bred.  The committee at the local village hall announced last year that they wanted to fly a mere 9 foot flag pole featuring the Union flag, albeit only on certain days such as public holidays.  However, some locals reacted so strongly against the proposal that one would be forgiven for thinking that Claxton was actually a predominantly Catholic village in Northern Ireland.

However, this is not the case, and Brit after Brit complained about the idea that their own national flag could be flown in their village, which happens to be located in... Great Britain.

While the local parish council approved the flag pole, one parisioner argued that the committee should make do with bunting, because a flag on a pole presents 'a fine line between patriotism and nationalism'.  A resident named Glynnis White demanded to know the committee's 'motivations' for flying such a flag, adding: "The flag is often used as a symbol against immigration and it would worry me if it was being used in the wrong way".

Good grief!

Another resident, John Garcia, complained: "People have been really riled up about this, I don't know if I've ever seen the Union Jack flown at a village hall before and it does have certain connotations."  He never saw a Union flag flying outside a village hall?  Has he never left Claxton in his entire life or did he just come in off a boat?  Another complainant argued that the cost of the flag pole could be put to better use, such as installing central heating and/or a heat pump.  A heat pump, you say?  Perhaps we are getting to the bottom of the bourgeois demographic behind these complaints...

Another unnamed villager also complained to the local MP - Labour's newly elected Ben Goldsborough.  However, Goldsborough decided to play Devil's advocate and sit on the fence: "The most important thing is making sure that all residents feel listened to" he said.

It is not clear how many of the individuals involved in the complaints were one and the same, but thankfully there were voices of sanity also.  Nancy Harrison, who moved to the village in 2022, said: "Why should we be ashamed of our flag?  If it puts people off from moving here then they shouldn't."

Bravo Nancy, although it's desperately sad that it had to be said at all.

So there we have it folks, in modern Britain we can deck our high streets out in far left Progress 'Pride' flags, but actually flying our own national flag presents a problem.

BY-ELECTIONS 05.06.25

It was a busy Thursday this week, with a major by-election north of the border, plus eight council by-elections south of the border.

In Hamilton there was an MSP vacancy following the death of the SNP incumbent.  Usually such elections are a walkover for the defending party, but the declining popularity of the SNP saw the party lose to Labour and narrowly avoid a third place finish.  The SNP had been defending a 4,582 majority.  

Once again, Reform UK came from nowhere to push the main parties in a tight three-way contest.  Reform also enjoyed a significant swing from the SNP, in line with recent polling that suggested even some pro-independence voters were considering a vote for Reform.  We live in interesting times.

Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse, Scottish Parliament

(first past the post)

Lab: 8,559 (31.5%) -2.0%

SNP: 7,957 (29.4%) -16.8%

Ref: 7,088 (26.2%) New

Con: 1,621 (6.0%) -11.5%

Grn: 695 (2.6%) New

LDm: 533 (2.0%) -0.8%

SSP: 278 (1.0%) New

SFP: 219 (0.8%) New

Ind: 109 (0.4%) New

UKIP: 50 (0.2%) New

Lab GAIN from SNP

While Labour will be cock-a-hoop with the Holyrood result, the story further south was dismal.  They lost all three seats they were defending to Reform.  The Labour vote share was down in every single ward, ranging from a marginal 0.2 per cent to a whopping 50.5 per cent.

Reform also gained a seat from the Conservatives, while it was also a good night for the Lib Dems who held two and gained two, both from the Tories.

Somercotes, Amber Valley Borough Council

Ref: 396 (45.3%) New

Lab: 346 (39.6%) -27.0%

Con: 53 (6.1%) -15.1%

LDm: 48 (5.5%) -1.1%

Grn: 20 (2.3%) -3.3%

Ind: 11 (1.3%) New

Ref GAIN from Lab

Fairstead, Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk

Ref: 289 (39.1%) New

LDm: 275 (37.2%) New

Lab: 118 (16.0%) -29.7%

Grn: 36 (4.9%) -16.9%

Ind: 21 (2.8%) New

Ref GAIN from Lab

North Lynn, Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk

Ref: 278 (49.6%) New

LDm: 123 (22.0%) New

Lab: 107 (19.1%) -50.5%

Grn: 52 (9.3%) New

Ref GAIN from Lab

Frinton, Tendring District Council

Ref: 1,222 (57.2%) New

Con: 577 (27.0%) -15.0%

Lab: 168 (7.9%) -7.0%

Grn: 93 (4.3%) -8.0%

LDm: 78 (3.6%) New

Ref GAIN from Con

Burgess Hill North, West Sussex County Council

LDm: 1,088 (40.9%) n/c

Ref: 707 (26.6%) New

Con: 618 (23.3%) -14.9%

Grn: 153 (5.8%) -5.4%

Lab: 92 (4.7%) -5.0%

LDm HOLD

Hassocks & Burgess Hill South, West Sussex County Council

LDm: 1,694 (55.3%) -6.6%

Ref: 762 (24.9%) New

Con: 310 (10.1%) -15.9%

Grn: 175 (5.7%) New

Lab: 123 (4.0%) -8.1%

LDm HOLD

St Leonard's Forest, West Sussex County Council

LDm: 644 (32.5%) +2.2%

Ref: 584 (29.5%) New

Con: 401 (20.2%) -34.3%

Grn: 259 (13.1%) New

Lab: 94 (4.7%) -10.5%

LDm GAIN from Con

Maiden Erlegh & Whitegates, Wokingham Borough Council

LDm: 1,028 (31.2%) +3.2%

Lab: 793 (24.1%) -0.2%

Con: 788 (23.9%) -4.2%

Ref: 486 (14.8%) New

Grn: 189 (5.5%) -6.2%

TUS: 17 (0.5%) New

LDm GAIN from Con

Abbreviations

SNP = Scottish National Party

Lab = Labour

Ref = Reform UK

Con = Conservative

Grn = Green

LDm = Liberal Democrat

SSP = Scottish Socialist Party

SFP = Scottish Family Party

UKIP = United Kingdom Independence Party

TUS = Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

Ind = Independent

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 15.05.25

Four seats were up for grabs on Thursday and it was another stunning week for the Reform UK juggernaut.  They were fighting all four seats for the first time and won two.  In Norfolk they took a seat from the Conservatives and in Stoke-on-Trent they completely annihilated the defending Labour party, receiving almost three times as many votes.  They also scored an impressive second place in Dunbartonshire, where they pushed the SNP all the way to the final round of counting.

So has Chairman Starmer's immigration rhetoric had an impact on voters?  Not judging by these results, where Labour's vote share plummeted by double digits in all four seats.

Whetstone, Barnet London Borough Council

Lab: 965 (33.5%) -18.0%

Con: 818 (28.4%) -7.8%

Ref: 592 (20.5%) New

Grn: 208 (7.2%) -5.1%

LDm: 176 (6.1%) New

REU: 65 (2.3%) New

TUS: 47 (1.6%) New

Ind: 13 (0.5%) New

Lab HOLD

Acle, Broadland District Council

Ref: 322 (33.2%) New

Con: 208 (21.4%) -25.4%

Grn: 200 (20.6%) New

Lab: 186 (19.2%) -23.2%

LDm: 54 (5.6%) -5.2%

Ref GAIN from Con

Birches Head & Northwood, Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Ref: 1,226 (58.5%) New

Lab: 449 (21.4%) -23.3%

Ind: 346 (16.5%) -14.0%

Con: 73 (3.5%) -16.7%

Ref GAIN from Lab

Clydebank Waterfront, West Dunbartonshire Council

(first preference votes)

SNP: 1,039 (36.1%) -16.1%

Ref: 768 (26.2%) New

Lab: 739 (25.2%) -12.2%

LDm: 138 (4.7%) New

Con: 84 (2.9%) -4.8%

Grn: 76 (2.6%) New

Alb: 47 (1.6%) New

SFP: 25 (0.9%) -1.7%

SNP HOLD (elected stage 7)

Abbreviations

Lab = Labour

Con = Conservative

Ref = Reform UK

Grn = Green

LDm = Liberal Democrat

REU = Rejoin EU

TUS = Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

SNP = Scottish National Party

Alb = Alba

SFP = Scottish Family Party

Ind = Independent

RESPITE FOR REFORM?

Farage and Yusuf unveil almost 30 new councillors

The very public mudslinging that has wracked Reform UK in recent weeks won't go away, but Nigel Farage and chairman Zia Yusuf hoped to get the fledgling party back on track with a major announcement on Monday.  The pair announced 29 council defections to Reform from other parties or having previously been independents or members of local residents' groups.  26 of the new members were in attendance at the press conference.

Some of the defections actually occurred up to a month ago, such as the defections of Conservatives Kirk Harrison, Joanne Monk and Stephen Reed, who announced their defections weeks ago.  Clearly, Monday's event was intended as a distraction from the rumblings within.

Of the defections, 15 were Conservatives, 12 were independents or from local residents' groups (two of which had previously been Conservatives) and one each came from Labour and the Lib Dems.  Most of the new Reformers are county councillors.

These are the new Reform councillors that Farage named...

• Cllr Heather Asker, Uttlesford District Council (was independent)
• Cllr Stephen Atkinson, Ribble Valley Borough Council (was Conservative and leader of the council)
• Cllr Bill Barrett, Ashford Borough Council (was independent, previously Conservative)
• Cllr Felix Bloomfield, Oxfordshire County Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Mandy Clare, Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council (was Labour, reportedly left in opposition to trans ideology)
• Cllr Stuart Davies, North Somerset Council (was independent)
• Cllr Emma Ellison, Blackpool Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Paul Ellison, Wyre Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Robert Gibson, Lincolnshire County Council (was independent)
• Cllr Kirk Harrison, North Northamptonshire Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Manzur Hasan, Lincolnshire County Council (was independent)
• Cllr Cathy Hunt, Durham County Council (was independent)
• Cllr Paul Irwin, Buckinghamshire District Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Claire Jonson-Wood, Powys County Council (was independent)
• Cllr Reg Kain, Cheshire East Council (was Liberal Democrat)
• Cllr Edward Kirk, Wiltshire Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Karl Lewis, Powys County Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Graham McAndrew, Hertfordshire County Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Iain McIntosh, Powys County Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Joanne Monk, Worcestershire County Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Geoff Morgan, Powys County Council (was independent)
• Cllr Jan O'Hara, North Northamptonshire Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Christine Palmer, Swale Borough Council (was independent)
• Cllr Richard Palmer, Swale Borough Council (was independent)
• Cllr Stephen Reed, North East Derbyshire District Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Dirk Ross, Kent County Council (was independent, previously Conservative)
• Cllr Matthew Salter, Lancashire County Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Vernon Smith, Gloucestershire County Council (was Conservative)
• Cllr Thomas Sneath, South Holland District Council (was independent)

A further defection was announced in the form of Julian Kirk, who has resigned his seat on Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council in protest at delayed local elections.  He was an independent, having previously been a Conservative councillor.

These announcements came just as another existing Reform councillor quit the party, a member of East Riding Yorkshire Council.  Still, a big net gain for Farage with the news of such a large influx.

There was quite possibly more important news for Reform on Monday.  Convict MP Mike Amesbury has officially stood down as the member for Runcorn and Helsby, triggering the by-election we've all been waiting for.  This will be a huge indicator of Reform's electoral prowess and ability to shake off its recent troubles.  They remain odds on favourites with the bookies to win the Cheshire seat and those odds have now stabilised, having previously been drifting a little in response to the infighting.

There is no date for the Runcorn by-election as yet.

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 27.02.25

This week was very much an East Anglian affair, with three of the five contests taking place in Norfolk and Suffolk.  These are the kind of places that Reform UK are looking to do well and they did score a very impressive gain in Norfolk, securing over half of the vote at the first time of asking.  They appear to have picked votes up from both Tories and Labour in Breckland.

Reform were debutants in both Suffolk seats and Westminster also, finishing third in all three.  The Westminster contest was a technical Tory gain, with Labour having previously finished second to take one of the two seats available.

Once again, the Labour vote was down in all four of the seats it contested.

Bedingfeld, Breckland District Council

Ref: 414 (54.3%) New

Con: 209 (27.4%) -25.2%

Lab: 99 (13.0%) -14.1%

Grn: 41 (5.4%) New

Ref GAIN from Con

Rushmere St Andrews, East Suffolk District Council

Con: 377 (29.8%) -17.0%

Grn: 373 (29.5%) +8.9%

Ref: 347 (27.5%) New

Lab: 166 (13.1%) -19.4%

Con HOLD

Woodbridge, East Suffolk District Council

LDm: 1,023 (53.6%) +25.5%

Con: 391 (20.5%) +1.0%

Ref: 274 (14.4%) New

Lab: 219 (11.5%) -8.5%

LDm HOLD

Vincent Square, Westminster City Council

Con: 978 (45.4%) +0.5%

Lab: 700 (32.5%) -10.6%

Ref: 206 (9.6%) New

LDm: 156 (7.2%) -4.8%

Grn: 101 (4.7%) New

CPA: 14 (0.6%) New

Con GAIN from Lab

Eamont & Shap, Westmorland and Furness Council

LDm: 789 (67.2%) +1.5%

Con: 241 (20.5%) -13.8%

Ind: 76 (6.5%) New

Grn: 68 (5.8%) New

LDm HOLD

Abbreviations

Ref = Reform UK

Con = Conservative

Lab = Labour

Grn = Green

LDm = Liberal Democrat

CPA = Christian Peoples Alliance

Ind = Independents and local groups

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 12.09.24

Ten council contests this week, including three in London.  Labour held in Tower Hamlets with an increased vote share, but their vote fell in Hackney where they lost a seat to the Greens.

Elsewhere there were Labour holds in Cambridge, Gateshead and Milton Keynes, but the Labour vote was down in all three.  They gained a seat from the Conservatives on the Isle of Arran with a huge swing, due in part to the absence of an SNP candidate and the Scotting voting system.  The Labour vote was down in seven of the ten by-elections.

The Lib Dems held two of the three seats they were defending, but surrendered a seat to an independent candidate in Norfolk.  The Lib Dems chose not to defend the seat after the sitting councillor passed away, instead endorsing the independent candidate who ended up winning the seat.

Romsey, Cambridge City Council

Lab: 596 (42.8%) -2.7%

Grn: 409 (29.4%) +8.7%

LDem: 249 (17.9%) +3.4%

Con: 138 (9.9%) -9.3%

Lab HOLD

Bridges, Gateshead Borough Council

Lab: 320 (30.6%) -27.7%

LDem: 255 (24.4%) +13.0%

Grn: 253 (24.2%) +9.8%

Ref: 166 (15.9%) New

Con: 53 (5.1%) -10.9%

Lab HOLD

London Fields, Hackney London Borough Council

Lab: 746 (54.1%) -6.9%

Ind: 437 (31.7%) New

Con: 72 (5.2%) New

LDem: 71 (5.2%) -8.0%

WPB: 52 (3.8%) New

Lab HOLD

Stoke Newington, Hackney London Borough Council

Grn: 1,253 (53.0%) +19.5%

Lab: 945 (40.0%) -19.2%

LDem: 78 (3.3%) New

Con: 74 (3.1%) -4.1%

Ind: 12 (0.5%) New

Grn GAIN from Lab

Bletchley East, Milton Keynes City Council

Lab: 869 (49.7%) -7.1%

Con: 431 (24.7%) -0.7%

Ind: 147 (8.4%) New

Grn: 143 (8.2%) +2.6%

LDem: 127 (7.3%) +0.5%

Herit: 30 (1.7%) New

Lab HOLD

North Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne City Council

LDem: 740 (64.5%) +2.9%

Lab: 234 (20.4%) -6.0%

Grn: 93 (8.1%) -0.2%

Con: 35 (3.1%) -0.6%

Ref: 26 (2.3%) New

PoW: 19 (1.7%) New

LDem HOLD

Freebridge Lynn, Norfolk County Council

Ind: 723 (53.8%) New

Con: 454 (33.8%) +2.8%

Lab: 167 (12.4%) +5.8%

Ind GAIN from LDem

Arran, North Ayrshire Council

(first preference votes)

Lab: 748 (45.4%) +35.4%

Ind: 402 (24.4%) +2.4%

Grn: 340 (20.6%) +10.7%

Con: 90 (5.5%) -27.0%

Ref: 55 (3.3%) New

LDem: 12 (0.7%) New

Lab GAIN from Con (elected at stage 5)

North Walsham Market Cross, North Norfolk Council

LDem: 283 (46.5%) -3.8%

Con: 239 (39.3%) +1.8%

Grn: 53 (8.7%) New

Lab: 33 (5.4%) -6.7%

LDem HOLD

Bow East, Tower Hamlets London Borough Council

Lab: 1,266 (53.3%) +6.1%

Grn: 722 (30.4%) +14.1%

Con: 239 (10.1%) +4.4%

LDem: 148 (6.2%) -2.3%

Lab HOLD

Abbreviations

Lab = Labour

Grn = Green

LDem = Liberal Democrat

Con = Conservative

Ref = Reform UK

WPB = Workers Party of Britain

Herit = Heritage

PoW = Party of Women

Ind = Independents

LEWIS RETAKES THE OATH

Labour's Clive Lewis has been forced to retake his oath of allegiance as an MP, following an objection and omission during his first attempt.  Despite having previously taken the oath three times, the hard left MP for Norwich South decided to make an issue of it in 2024.  A republican, Lewis objects to the wording of the oath, which reads: "I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law."

Lewis prefaced his oath with the statement: "I take this oath under protest and in the hope that one day my fellow citizens will democratically decide to live in a republic".  He then proceeded to omit the words 'his heirs and successors' (see video clip below).

If MPs do not complete the oath of allegiance, they cannot take their seats or salary.  Sinn Fein MPs traditionally refuse the oath and therefore do not take their seats in the Commons or draw a salary.

Clive obviously didn't want to miss out on either, so when asked to retake his oath, he duly obliged - albeit with reworded protest.  Lewis prefaced his second attempt to swear in with the preface: "I was elected to Parliament to represent my constituents and our country to the best of my ability to defend democracy and uphold human rights and one day I hope all members of parliament will be entitled to swear an oath of allegiance based on those values".

Lewis went on to complete the wording this time and successfully take up his seat in the Commons (see video clip below).

Lewis was not alone in protesting the oath.  SDLP leader Colum Eastwood declared words of protest before and after he completed the oath.  The MP for Foyle (which includes the city of Londonderry) prefaced his oath with the statement: "I read out this empty formula in order to represent my constituents, but it’s under protest".  After he completed the oath, he added: "My true allegiance is to the people of Derry and to the people of Ireland."

Eastwood's colleague, Claire Hanna (Belfast South & Mid Down), voiced a similar protest: "In friendship and in hope of a reconciled new Ireland, my allegiance is to the people of Belfast South and Mid Down.  I say these words in order to serve them".

POLICE & CRIME COMMISSIONERS 2024

The results of the police and crime commissioner elections will appear below as they come in.

Avon & Somerset

Clare Moody (Lab) 95,982 (32.3%) +8.6%

Mark Shelford (Con) 91,006 (30.6%) -4.1%

Katy Grant (Grn) 64,623 (21.7%) +5.3%

Benet Allen (LDem) 45,864 (15.4%) +2.0%

Lab GAIN from Con

Bedfordshire

John Tizard (Lab) 40,745 (40.5%) +5.5%

Festus Akinbusoye (Con) 35,688 (35.5%) -6.9%

Jasbir Singh Parmar (LDem) 15,857 (15.8%) -2.7%

Waheed Akbar (WkP) 8,396 (8.3%) New

Lab GAIN from Con

Cambridgeshire

Darryl Preston (Con) 61,688 (38.1%) -4.8%

Anna Smith (Lab) 58,304 (36.0%) +4.7%

Edna Murphy (LDem) 41,984 (25.9%) +3.6%

Con HOLD

Cheshire

Dan Price (Lab) 86,279 (48.1%) +10.8%

John Dwyer (Con) 65,836 (36.7%) -7.9%

Paul Duffy (LDem) 27,342 (15.2%) +0.7%

Lab GAIN from Con

Cleveland

Matt Storey (Lab) 65,418 (52.6%) +23.7%

Steve Turner (Con) 58,977 (47.4%) -6.8%

Lab GAIN from Con

Cumbria

David Allen (Lab) 38,708 (47.4%) +21.3%

Mike Johnson (Con) 24,863 (30.4%) -23.1%

Adrian Waite (LDem) 18,100 (22.2%) +1.8%

Lab GAIN from Con

Derbyshire

Nicolle Ndiweni (Lab) 93,260 (43.6%) +6.1%

Angelique Foster (Con) 65,293 (30.5%) -25.5%

Russell Armstrong (RefUK) 32,944 (15.4%) +11.6%

David Hancock (LDem) 22,540 (12.1%) +2.8%

Lab GAIN from Con

Devon & Cornwall

Alison Hernandez (Con) 131,764 (43.3%) -6.7%

Daniel Steel (Lab) 107,897 (35.4%) +15.2%

Steve Lodge (LDem) 64,790 (21.3%) +3.4%

Con HOLD

Dorset

David Sidwick (Con) 57,994 (38.2%) -4.3%

Howard Legg (LDem) 34,774 (22.9%) +11.1%

Marianne Storey (Ind) 32,237 (21.2%) New

David Stokes (Lab) 26,884 (17.7%) +6.8%

Con HOLD

Durham

Joy Allen (Lab) 66,852 (56.0%) +12.2%

Rob Potts (Con) 37,773 (31.7%) -11.3%

Nigel Boddy (LDem) 14,678 (12.3%) -0.9%

Lab HOLD

Dyfed-Powys

Dafydd Llywelyn (Plaid) 31,323 (40.9%) -7.3%

Ian Harrison (Con) 19,134 (25.0%) -9.0%

Philippa Thompson (Lab) 18,353 (24.0%) +0.3%

Justin Griffiths (LDem) 7,719 (10.1%) +1.4%

Plaid HOLD

Essex

Roger Hirst (Con) 126,447 (37.1%) -16.9%

Adam Fox (Lab) 116,875 (34.3%) +11.4%

Kieron Franks (LDem) 52,922 (15.5%) +2.2%

Robin Tilbrook (EDem) 34,153 (13.2%) +3.4%

Con HOLD

Gloucestershire

Chris Nelson (Con) 47,838 (32.7%) -8.0%

Martin Surl (LDem) 46,352 (31.7%) +12.7%

Ashley Smith (Lab) 35,069 (24.0%) +7.9%

Matthew Randolph (Ind) 15,240 (10.4%) +10.4%

Con HOLD

Gwent

Jane Mudd (Lab) 28,476 (41.7%) -0.1%

Hannah Jarvis (Con) 21,919 (32.1%) +3.2%

Donna Cushing (Plaid) 9,864 (14.4%) -1.8%

Mike Hamilton (LDem) 8,078 (11.8%) +7.6%

Lab HOLD

Hampshire & Isle of Wight

Donna Jones (Con) 175,953 (42.3%) -7.5%

Becky Williams (Lab) 106,141 (25.5%) +6.2%

Prad Bains (LDem) 92,843 (22.3%) +4.5%

Don Jerrard (JAC) 40,691 (9.8%) New

Con HOLD

Hertfordshire

Jonathan Ash-Edwards (Con) 93,658 (36.7%) -11.8%

Sean Prendergast (LDem) 68,264 (26.7%) -0.7%

Tom Plater (Lab) 66,585 (26.1%) +2.0%

Matt Fisher (Grn) 26,714 (10.5%) New

 

Con HOLD

Humberside

Jonathan Evison (Con) 51,083 (39.7%) -5.9%

Simon O'Rourke (Lab) 46,846 (36.4%) -3.0%

Bob Morgan (LDem) 30,834 (24.0%) +8.9%

Con HOLD

Kent

Matthew Scott (Con) 120,491 (44.1%) -13.7%

Lenny Rolles (Lab) 92,508 (33.9%) +8.6%

Graham Colley (LDem) 60,279 (22.1%) +5.1%

Con HOLD

Lancashire

Clive Grunshaw (Lab) 135,638 (47.1%) +2.3%

Andrew Snowden (Con) 101,281 (35.1%) -6.5%

Neil Darby (LDem) 51,252 (17.8%) +9.0%

Lab GAIN from Con

Leicestershire

Rupert Matthews (Con) 62,280 (35.3%) -14.0%

Rory Palmer (Lab) 61,420 (34.8%) +1.5%

Aasiya Bora (Grn) 23,649 (13.4%) New

Ian Sharpe (LDem) 22,041 (12.5%) -5.0%

Fizza Askari (OneL) 7,104 (4.0%) New

Con HOLD

Lincolnshire

Marc Jones (Con) 39,639 (36.5%) -23.2%

Mike Horder (Lab) 31,931 (29.5%) +9.5%

Peter Escreet (RefUK) 15,518 (14.3%) +10.8%

Lesley Rollings (LDem) 13,380 (12.4%) +6.4%

David Dickason (EDem) 7,739 (7.2%) New

Con HOLD

Merseyside

Emily Spurrell (Lab) 152,640 (61.7%) +4.9%

Bob Teesdale (Con) 35,221 (14.2%) -8.6%

Amanda Onwuemene (Grn) 31,330 (12.7%) +12.7%

Christopher Carubia (LDem) 28,093 (11.4%) -5.2%

Lab HOLD

Norfolk

Sarah Taylor (Lab) 52,445 (35.2%) +13.1%

Giles Orpen-Smellie (Con) 50,567 (33.9%) -11.2%

Martin Schmierer (Grn) 23,628 (15.8%) +5.6%

John Crofts (LDem) 22,525 (15.1%) +1.4%

Lab GAIN from Con

Northamptonshire

Danielle Stone (Lab) 43,684 (39.3%) +11.8%

Martyn Emberson (Con) 39,714 (35.7%) -17.5%

Ana Savage Gunn (LDem) 27,799 (25.0%) +9.7%

Lab GAIN from Con

Northumbria

Susan Dungworth (Lab) 176,311 (51.0%) +4.4%

Ros Munro (Con) 78,818 (22.8%) -8.1%

John Appleby (LDem) 58,574 (17.0%) +6.3%

Mustaque Rahman (Ind) 31,773 (9.2%) New

Lab HOLD

North Wales

Andy Dunbobbin (Lab) 31,950 (36.0%) +6.9%

Brian Jones (Con) 26,281 (29.6%) -2.0%

Ann Griffith (Plaid) 23,466 (26.4%) -2.0%

Richard Marbrow (LDem) 7,129 (8.0%) +3.7%

Lab HOLD

Nottinghamshire

Gary Godden (Lab) 119,355 (52.1%) +8.6%

Caroline Henry (Con) 77,148 (33.7%) -14.2%

David Watts (LDem) 32,410 (14.2%) +5.5%

Lab GAIN from Con

South Wales

Emma Wools (Lab) 73,128 (45.2%) +4.2%

George Carroll (Con) 43,344 (26.8%) +2.5%

Dennis Clarke (Plaid) 27,410 (16.9%) -2.1%

Sam Bennett (LDem) 17,908 (11.1%) +6.5%

Lab HOLD

Staffordshire

Ben Adams (Con) 73,500 (45.6%) -10.1%

Alastair Watson (Lab) 70,128 (43.5%) +16.0%

Alec Sandiford (LDem) 17,666 (11.0%) +6.6%

Con HOLD

Suffolk

Tim Passmore (Con) 52,968 (40.2%) -14.5%

Robin Wales (Lab) 41,734 (31.7%) +8.7%

Rachel Smith-Lyte (Grn) 22,488 (17.1%) +3.5%

James Sandbach (LDem) 14,541 (11.0%) -2.8%

Con HOLD

Surrey

Lisa Townsend (Con) 95,538 (36.0%) +2.5%

Paul Kennedy (LDem) 82,213 (30.9%) +10.2%

Kate Chinn (Lab) 42,813 (16.1%) +0.2%

Alex Coley (Ind) 42,052 (15.8%) New

Con HOLD

Sussex

Katy Bourne (Con) 122,495 (39.0%) -8.3%

Paul Richards 99,502 (31.7%) +13.0%

Jamie Bennett (LDem) 48,923 (15.6%) +1.7%

Jonathan Kent (Grn) 43,105 (13.7%) +0.3%

Con HOLD

Thames Valley

Matthew Barber (Con) 144,092 (32.1%) -10.4%

Tim Starkey (Lab) 141,749 (31.6%) +3.8%

Tim Bearder (LDem) 84,341 (18.8%) +1.3%

Ben Holden-Crowther (MPTV) 46,853 (10.4%) New

Russell Douglas Fowler (Ind) 31,460 (7.0%) New

Con HOLD

Warwickshire

Philip Seccomb (Con) 45,638 (39.4%) -12.7%

Labour Co-op Sarah Feeney (Lab) 45,377 (39.2%) +11.5%

Richard Dickson (LDem) 24,867 (21.5%) +5.3%

Con HOLD

West Mercia

John-Paul Campion (Con) 73,395 (34.3%) -21.0%

Richard Overton (Lab) 63,082 (29.5%) +5.5%

Sarah Murray (LDem) 33,782 (15.8%) +0.2%

Julian Dean (Grn) 22,021 (10.3%) New

Henry Curteis (EDem) 21,645 (10.1%) New

Con HOLD

West Midlands

Simon Foster (Lab) 327,844 (57.5%) +12.0%

Tom Byrne (Con) 241,827 (42.5%) +3.1%

Lab HOLD

Wiltshire

Philip Wilkinson (Con) 38,578 (31.0%) -5.0%

Stanka Adamcova (Lab) 36,345 (29.2%) +14.9%

Mike Rees (Ind) 29,035 (23.3%) -4.5%

Alan Hagger (LDem) 20,485 (16.5%) -3.3%

Con HOLD