Local Council By-Elections: 2025 in Summary

In 2025, 678,122 votes were cast over 350 local authority contests. 197 council seats changed hands, and all percentages are rounded to the nearest decimal place. For comparison you can view last year's results here.

* There were 22 by-elections in Scotland
** There were 20 by-elections in Wales
*** There were 29 contests with Independent clashes
**** See the quarterly round ups for the results from smaller parties

At the beginning of 2025, the Conservatives and Labour were under severe pressure from Reform. By year's end, they barely put up any resistance when Nigel Farage's party field a candidate. This was a very bad year for the Tories, at least where vote share was concerned. 2023 and 2022 still beat them out for seats lost. But this is nothing, and I mean nothing, compared to the catastrophe that has overtaken Labour. No party has ever performed as badly or lost as many candidates to local authority by-elections. Keir Starmer is testing to destruction the idea his party can go without core supporters, and the result is what you see. Plenty of funsies for them to look forward to in May. The more cynical among us might suggest there's a relationship between this and the government's alacrity for cancelling council elections, ostensibly thanks to its reorganisation of local government.

As for Reform, it pains me to say no party has ever made such a killing in council-by-elections. Only the Tories have come close in recent times, and that was in 2021 before Boris Johnson immolated his premiership. The Liberal Democrats have the runners up consolation. It's worth noting in "normal times", being up 18 seats over a year was a fairly decent performance. As for the Green surge, there was a bit of evidence of this feeding through in November's local election numbers but overall they're holding steady.

Is anyone foolish enough to venture local by-election predictions for the year ahead? Last year, I tentatively suggested that the rise of Reform might see declines in independent and small party candidatures. Bearing in mind there were 34 fewer contests in 2025, the indie and Other drops are disproportionately greater. Too early so say whether this is a trend but it's something for the nerds, ahem, to keep an eye on.

Apart from these, a lot depends on what happens in May. If Labour get rid of Starmer and elect someone who takes the party in a different direction, that might improve things. But it's also important not to overhype Reform's by-election advance. I.e. They are reflecting a shift that has already taken place among voters who turn out for council by-elections. It offers the appearance of momentum and growing support, and as 2026 contests register this mass switch in preferences Reform's councillor tally will grow. But its actual support will probably bob around the level it's now at. As for the Greens, will the surge break through in by-election land? Again, all eyes will be on May when the metropolitans are up. The Greens will surely do well here, and are likely to scoop up more where by-elections have been rolled into the local election campaigns. Lastly, Your Party is set to make its debut under its own name. Allied groups of community independents have done well and won seats, but can their localism transfer succesfully to a new party? These will all find answers in the year ahead.

Image Credit