Quarter Three By-Election Results 2025

This quarter 137,292 votes were cast in 70 local authority contests. All percentages are rounded to the nearest single decimal place. 38 council seats changed hands. For comparison you can view Quarter Two's results here.

Party	Number of Candidates	Total Vote	%	+/- Q2	+/- Q3 24	Avge/ Contest	+/- Seats
Conservative	71	22,763	16.6%	-1.4	-3.6	321	-7
Labour	63	23,511	17.1%	+0.0	-21.0	373	-17
Lib Dem	59	23,259	16.9%	-4.2	+2.1	394	+4
Reform	69	36,875	26.9%	+2.0	+24.4	534	+19
Green	58	13,923	10.1%	-0.6	-3.0	240	+1
SNP*	3	1,705	1.2%	+0.0	-0.3	568	-1
PC**	9	3,212	2.3%	+2.0	+2.1	357	0
Ind***	33	10,875	7.9%	+2.9	-0.6	330	+2
Other****	17	1,169	0.9%	-0.8	-0.4	69	-1

* There were three by-elections in Scotland
** There were 10 by-elections in Wales
*** There were four Independent clashes
**** Others this month were Abolish Holyrood (27), Brixtowe Alliance (275), Communist Party of Britain (9), Gwlad (6), Pirate Party (11), Propel (327, 63), Residents of Wilmslow (215), SDP (13, 11), TUSC (29, 26, 1), UKIP (5),Vectis Party (46), Workers' Party (15), Yorkshire Party (100)

I suppose the sole consolation Labour can take from this set of results is that their popular vote share appears to have hit a floor, and that perhaps Reform are now bobbing about their ceiling. There's little point going back over the arguments about the hows and whys Keir Starmer has chosen to throw his voting coalition to the winds, and I very much doubt their latest wheeze - that digital ID will combat immigration - are going to tempt back that sliver of Labour-Reform switchers.

As for the others, the quarter hasn't been kind to the Conservatives either. While their decline is partly masked by the low ebb they were at following the election, without having government office it's hard to see how they can change their fortunes. The Lib Dems are carrying on doing the Lib Dem thing, and the Greens are settling around the 10% mark with an extra councillor to shout about.

Unless something comes along that changes the dial, I predict that December's reflection will come to conclusions pretty much the same as this one: Reform carries all before, and the two main parties are floundering.

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