Local Council By-Elections October 2025

This month saw 79,149 votes cast in 35 local authority contests. All percentages are rounded to the nearest single decimal place. 24(!) council seats changed hands. For comparison with September's results, see here.

Party	Number of Candidates	Total Vote	%	+/- Sep	+/- Oct 24	Avge/ Contest	+/- Seats
Conservative	37	12,544	15.8%	+0.5	-11.6	339	-6
Labour	30	9,904	12.5%	-1.9	-9.9	330	-6
Lib Dem	36	19,722	24.9%	+8.7	+3.7	548	+8
Reform	37	23,414	29.6%	+3.7	+24.2	633	+10
Green	29	6,336	8.0%	-5.7	-3.0	218	-1
SNP*	2	1,598	2.0%	+0.4	-2.0	799	0
PC**	0						0
Ind***	25	3,940	5.0%	-4.5	+0.1	158	-5
Other****	7	1,691	2.1%	+1.3	-0.2	242	0

* There were two by-elections in Scotland
** There were no by-elections in Wales
*** There were six Independent clashes
**** Others this month were Caterham Residents (131), Guildford Residents (565), Heritage Party (97), Our West Lancashire (704), Rejoin EU (81), Tunbridge Wells Alliance (105), TUSC (8)

Congratulations to the Labour Party. This is the first time since last November that they didn't come bottom of the month's contest. Instead, they got to share that ignominy with the Conservatives. Losing six seats apiece, Reform and the Liberal Democrats surged. The former the catch-all protest party, as heavily trailed by the media. The latter, it seems, tha catch-all tactical choice to keep Reform from winning.

October was also notable because for the third time ever, Reform lost a seat defence. The Lib Dems scooped one up from them in Bromsgrove. But before there are any celebrations, the yellow party dropped one to them near Ipswich. No sign of the tide going out for Reform yet, despite its well-publicised difficulties in local government.

Is November likely to tell a different story? It's possible the Tories could do worse than Labour, but things being as they are this month will look like last month, and all the months of the past year.

2 October
Brentwood, Hutton South, Ref gain from Con
Cheshire West & Chester, Strawberry, Lab hold
Isle of Wight, Lake North, Ref hold
Maidstone, Harrietsham Lenham & North Downs, Ref gain from Ind x3
Wigan, Wigan Central, Ref gain from Lab

8 October
Hart, Yateley West, LDem hold

9 October
Bath & North East Somerset, Widcombe & Lyncombe, LDem hold
North Northamptonshire, Lloyds & Corby Village, Ref hold
Redcar & Cleveland, Skelton East, Ref gain from Con
Teignbridge, Kenn Valley, LDem gain from Con
West Lancashire, Aughton & Holborn, Oth gain from Lab
Wychavon, Bretforton & Offerton, Ref gain from Con

16 October
Babergh, Copdock & Washbrook, Ref gain from LDem
Preston, Ashton, LDem gain from Lab
Reigate & Banstead, Meadvale & St John's, LDem hold
South Ayrshire, Ayr North, Ind gain from SNP
Spelthorne, Staines, LDem gain from Grn
Surrey, Camberley West, LDem gain from Con
Surrey, Caterham Valley, LDem hold
Surrey, Guildford South East, LDem gain from Oth
Tandridge, Whyteleafe, LDem hold
Trafford, Broadheath, Con gain from Lab

23 October
Birmingham, Moseley, LDem gain from Lab
Colchester, New Town & Christ Church, Lab hold
Fenland, Whittlesey North West, Con hold
Portsmouth, Paulsgrove, Ref gain from Ind
Somerset, Dunster, LDem gain from Con
Somerset, Glastonbury, LDem hold
Torridge, Milton & Tamarside, LDem gain from Ind

30 October
Barnet, Hendon, Con hold
Stevenage, Roebuck, Ref gain from Lab
Stirling, Stirling East, SNP gain from Con
Thanet, Garlinge, Ref gain from Ind
Tunbridge Wells, St Johns, LDem hold
Worcestershire, Bromsgrove South, LDem gain from Ref

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Five Most Popular Posts in October

Did you get mugged by costume-clad kids last night? Don't worry, I have some post-Halloween treats for you: what was hot in October as decided by the internet going public.

1. Uncovering Starmer's Fraudulent Politics
2. What about the Little Lenins?
3. What Happened to One Nation Conservatism?
4. Politics after Caerphilly
5. Racism and the Right

Coming out on top was my right up of Paul Holden's press conference about his new book, The Fraud. It contained detailed and evidenced claims about the dirty tricks and the law flouting that has attended Keir Starmer's rise to and leadership of Labour. Mr Rules indeed. Second was a meditation on the far left and what role for them in Your Party. I see from reports around the country that the SWP have shown themselves keen to run events themselves, up to and excluding others from any organising role. Even so, I still wouldn't favour banning them from the new party. In at three as my thinking about one nation conservatism, a philosophy and attitude long departed from the Tory party as it exists today. Four was the fall out of Labour's catastrophic loss of their Caerphilly seat for the Senedd. Are there any signs that they recognise the roots of their malaise? Nope. And coming up last is a foray into considerations around the shape of hegemony in Britain today. What does Sarah Pochin's racist "outburst" say about the state of elite politics?

The post selected for the second chance promo treatment is The Second Green Surge. Has Your Party missed the boat with dithering and infighting? What's powering the rapid growth of the Greens? Is it just because Zack Polanski is a dab hand at the social media?

The unwelcome intrusion of Covid meant I didn't write quite as much as I hoped in October. But for the first time in a long time, I'm feeling motivated - even if politics is still a bin fire. Bubbling under I've got more things I want to say about the Greens, about Your Party, and what's going on with the Labour Party. Is it too caught in the grip of a process of long-term decline just like the Tories? I want to throw down some more thoughts about the debates around hegemony/anti-hegemony, and something might appear about our old chum Jean Baudrillard. On top of that the usual commentary on events, dear boy will populate this blog. As ever, if you haven't already don't forget to follow the (very) occasional newsletter, and if you like what I do (and you're not skint), you can bung a few quid and help support the blog. Following me on Bluesky, Facebook, and for what it's worth, Twitter, are cost-free ways of showing your backing for this corner of the internet.

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