Quarter Two Local By-Election Results 2014

Party	Number of candidates	Total vote	%	+/- Q1	Average/ contest	+/- Q1	+/- Seats
Conservative	118	77,874	29.6%	+1.0%	660	+233	-1
Labour	112	83,902	31.9%	+0.7%	749	+208	0
LibDem	79	29,280	11.1%	+1.0%	371	+169	0
UKIP	68	35,399	13.5%	+0.1%	520	+243	+4
SNP*	5	4,463	1.7%	-2.2%	892	+51	-2
Plaid Cymru**	1	329	0.1%	-1.7%	329	-256	0
Green	45	16,639	6.3%	+4.0%	370	+263	+3
BNP	1	327	0.1%	+0.1%	327	+327	0
TUSC	13	896	0.3%	-0.2%	69	-47	0
Independent***	33	12,709	4.8%	-1.6%	385	+111	-3
Other****	5	907	0.3%	-1.3%	181	+6	-1

* There were five by-elections in Scotland.
** There were three by-elections in Wales.
*** There were seven independent clashes this quarter.
**** 'Other' this quarter consisted of Scottish Christian (63), Inds for Bristol (354), NF (80), Respect (141), and Lincolnshire Independents (269).

262,725 votes were cast over 121 individual local authority (tier one and tier two) contests. Fractions are rounded to one decimal place for percentages, and the nearest whole number for averages. You can compare these with Quarter One 2014's results here.

There's not a lot to be said, really. The close result between the two main parties mirrors their proximity in the "proper" set of local elections taking place simultaneously. The onyl story, if you can call it that, is how very little things have moved. Nearly everyone's average vote is up, and note how close the LibDems came to getting overtaken by the Greens - in this quarter the latter two months saw the Greens lead the yellows on the mean scores. It's also worth noting this quarter is the first time they have outpolled the Independents. A flash in the pan or an indicator of a coming trend?