Local Council By-Elections January 2016

Party	Number of Candidates	Total Vote	%	+/-  Dec	Average/ contest	+/-  Dec	+/- Seats
Conservative	9	2,951	25.5%	-7.8%	328	-95	0
Labour	8	4,406	38.1%	+9.6%	551	+149	0
LibDem	7	1,423	12.3%	-0.6%	203	-16	0
UKIP	5	793	6.9%	-1.2%	159	+3	-1
Green	5	368	3.2%	+0.9%	74	+10	0
SNP*	1	1,089	9.4%	+4.5%	1,089	-147	0
PC**	0						0
TUSC	0						0
Ind***	4	487	4.2%	+1.1%	122	+23	+1
Other****	2	50	0.4%	-5.7%	25	-236	0

* There was one by-election in Scotland
** There were no by-elections in Wales
*** There was only one Independent clash
**** Others this month consisted of Christian People's Alliance (12), and All-People's Party (38)

Overall, 11,567 votes were cast over nine local authority (tier one and tier two) contests. All percentages are rounded to the nearest single decimal place. Three council seats changed hands in total. For comparison with December's results, see here.

January is always a quiet month, and so it proved here. Two seats in total changed hands, with an Independent taking one off Labour and Labour gaining another at the expense of UKIP. Regular watchers of this monthly round up will also note this is the first time since Jeremy became leader that Labour has won the local by-election popular vote tally. Not that it means a great deal, seeing as the seats were tilted slightly in our party's favour. That said, it remains an annoyance that despite being the largest party by a country mile, the Tories on the whole manage to dig deep and contest nearly every seat that comes up. Getting out-organised by a hedge funds and tumbleweed outfit, it's embarrassing.

As the number of contests were low, there's not a great deal that can be said. Except, again noting in defiance of the polls, the LibDems again out-polling UKIP. This trend stretches all the way back to just after the election, so something is going on here. And in the three-quarters year since, the consistency of the result cannot be put down to geographical quirks. If people are used to voting LibDem again, then their standing in the coming locals might come as a surprise to those glued to the polls.