Local Council By-Elections August 2021

This month saw 35,283 votes votes cast over 18 local authority contests. All percentages are rounded to the nearest single decimal place. Overall, 10 council seats changed hands. For comparison with July's results, see here.

Party	Number of Candidates	Total Vote	%	+/-  July	+/- Feb 20	Avge/ Contest	+/- Seats
Conservative	18	12,725	36.1%	-1.0	-2.4	707	-1
Labour	11	4,677	13.3%	-14.8	-16.7	425	-1
LibDem	18	7,262	20.6%	+6.3	+5.1	403	+4
Green	11	2,006	5.7%	-8.0	+3.2	182	+1
SNP*	5	5,968	16.9%	+16.9	+16.9	1,140	- 1
PC**	0			-0.1	-0.9		0
Ind***	5	1,161	3.3%	-2.1	-9.3	232	-3
Other****	8	1,754	5.0%	+3.8	+4.9	219	+1

 

 * There were five by-elections in Scotland
** There was one by-election in Wales
*** There were no Independent clashes
**** This month Others consisted of Aspire (1,204), Independence for Scotland (47, 42), Libertarian (11, 16), Socialist Labour Party (57), TUSC (50), Yorkshire Party (347)

August has graced us with a month of firsts. The Tories come out of a round of by-elections with a net loss of councillors for the first time since December (on that occasion, there were no contests in England). And if we put aside the special circumstances of running by-elections on Super Thursday in May, this is the first time Labour have taken a seat directly from the Tories since February 2020. A consolation of sorts then for a miserable by-election performance for Labour. Having run these round ups for eight years now, I can't remember an occasion when the party couldn't be bothered to fight over a third of the available seats. If the Tories can manage to run in virtually every by-election with nowhere near the same level of membership, why can't Labour? This occasion, however, is particularly egregious. As still the largest party by far in British politics, one might be tempted to lay this at the door of member demoralisation and/or lack of enthusiasm with the way things have turned out.

Where Labour fails to tread, the Liberal Democrats and, to a lesser extent, the Greens have stepped in. Some very good results for both parties, indicating they're sharing out the spoils of the none-of-the-above vote and, possibly, the slow move away from the Tories in their heartlands, which aren't exclusively located in the south. And while the Greens have slipped back on the very good vote tallies of previous months, their standing in as many seats as Labour and growing threat to the Tories in rural areas means they're the ones to watch over the coming months.

5th August
West Lothian UA, East Livingston and East Calder, SNP gain from Lab

12th August
East Suffolk, Orwell and Villages, Con hold
Highland, Inverness West, LDem gain from Ind
Highland, Wick and East Caithness, LDem gain from Ind
North Ayrshire, Dalry and West Kilbride, Con gain from SNP
South Lakeland, Grange, LDem hold
Tower Hamlets, Weavers, Oth gain from Lab

19th August
Aberdeenshire, Mid Formartine, Con gain from SNP
Ashford, Downs North, Grn gain from Con
Dover, Sandwich, Con hold
East Riding of Yorkshire, East Wolds and Coastal, Con hold
Ribble Valley, Littlemoor, LDem hold
Ribble Valley, Primrose, LDem hold
Rutland, Oakham South, LDem gain from Con

26th August
Cumbria, Corby and Hayton, LDem gain from Ind
Medway, Princes Park, Con hold
Medway, Strood North, Lab gain from Con
Newport, Graig, Con hold

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