453,772 votes were cast over 274 local authority contests. All percentages are rounded to the nearest single decimal place. Please note some by-elections were for newly created or previously uncontested seats, so seats gained/lost will not tally. For comparison you can view last year's results here.
* There were eight by-elections in Scotland
** There were seven by-elections in Wales
*** There were 17 contests with Independent clashes
**** See the quarterly round ups for the results from smaller parties
After their best year ever for by-election results, the only way for the Conservatives was down and down they slid. Across the country seats fell as the opposition parties surged, with Labour managing the rare feat of beating their raw vote tally and ending the year in a strongly positive position. Who knows, perhaps in 2023 the party will put the extra effort in and stand as many candidates as the Tories do? The Liberal Democrats will also be gratified with their performance, which continues to outshine national polling. And the Greens have managed respectably too, even if their vote share is slightly down on last year.
In case you're wondering where Reform UK are, they have done nothing but post derisory results in a handful of seats. They'll get serious by-election coverage once they start organising seriously. A few kind editorials from the Telegraph doesn't cut it with me. But whatever they do, the story of the next year will surely be another of serious Conservative decline. The local elections will be the moment of danger for Rishi Sunak, and if these results are anything to go by we might see another leadership contest in the not too distant.
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