Local Council By-Elections July 2026

This month saw 75,444 votes cast in 46 local authority contests. All percentages are rounded to the nearest single decimal place. 22 council seats changed hands. For comparison with June's results, see here.

Party	Number of Candidates	Total Vote	%	+/- Jun	+/- Jul 25	Avge/ Contest	+/- Seats
Conservative	45	14,287	18.9%	+3.1	+0.3	318	+1
Labour	34	10,983	14.6%	-3.4	-2.0	323	-2
Lib Dem	39	11,951	15.8%	-3.5	-2.3	306	+1
Reform	46	18,031	23.9%	-0.3	-4.0	392	+4
Green	37	8,756	11.6%	-2.1	+2.6	237	-1
SNP*	2	1,717	2.3%	+1.3	+2.3	859	+1
PC**	10	3,032	4.0%	+0.3	+2.2	303	-1
Ind***	19	5,095	6.8%	+3.0	-1.0	268	-2
Other****	10	1,592	2.1%	+1.4	+1.8	159	-1

* There were two by-election in Scotland
** There were 12 by-elections in Wales
*** There were six Independent clashes
**** Others were Christian People's Alliance (37, 12), Horwich and Blackrod First (1,186), Monster Raving Loony (13), Residents for Uttleford (138), Restore (98), Scottish Family Party (54), SPGB (6), TUSC (36), Your Party (11)

We might have new political realities, but there wasn't much evidence of it looking at this month's by-election results. One would have to look very hard and be smoking something semi-legal to discern the stirrings of a Labour revival. Still, it's early days yet so we'll see if the Burnham bounce works its way down to council level come August. Apart from that, there isn't much to talk about. Reform have contracted modestly, but still come out on top in votes and seats. Talk of a Tory revival at the national level might, on a first look, find some circumstantial evidence to support that here. Yet Tory "success" is by virtue of their brute force approach of standing almost everywhere. A point underlined by Labour outdoing them on vote average per seat. The Greens seem to have stalled, albeit on a vote share not to be sniffed at by their standards. And lastly, Plaid Cymru top their vote share record set last month.

Predictions for August? There are 16 to choose from in a customarily slow month. What makes it interesting is that half the seats are Reform defences, and most of them are in former Labour seats. Could a laboratory have designed a better test for measuring Labour's efforts at clawing back lost ground?

2 July
Aberdeenshire, Peterhead South & Cruden, SNP gain from Con
Bolton, Horwich North, Oth hold
Cheshire West & Chester, Weaver & Cuddington, Ind gain from Con
Cotswolds, Cirencester St Michael's, LDem hold
Dorset, St Leonards & St Ives, Con hold
Gloucestershire, Cirencester Park, LDem hold
Harborough, Lutterworth East, Ref gain from Lab
Powys, Glanwymyn, PC hold
Powys, Llanyre with Nantmel, Ref gain from Ind
Powys, Yscir with Honddu Isaf & Llanddew, LDem gain from Con
Telford & Wrekin, Malinslee & Dawley Bank, Lab hold
Torfaen, Llantarnam, Ref gain from Ind

7 July
Surrey, Haslemere, LDem hold
Waverley, Haslemere West, LDem hold

9 July
Camden, Regents Park, Lab gain from Grn
Cardiff, Splott, Lab hold
Flintshire, Argoed & New Brighton, LDem hold
Flintshire, Connah’s Quay, Ref gain from Ind
Gateshead, High Fell, Ref hold
Gwynedd, Llanrug, Ind gain from PC
Lambeth, Clapham Park, Grn hold
Lambeth, Streatham St Leonard's, LDem gain from Grn
Neath Port Talbot, Trebanos, PC hold
North Norfolk, Suffield Park, LDem hold
Pembrokeshire, Pembroke Dock Market, Con gain from Ind
South Lanarkshire, Larkhall, Ref gain from Lab
Stratford-on-Avon, Kinwarton, Con gain from LDem
Vale of Glamorgan, Baruc, PC hold

16 July
Breckland, Dereham Toftwood, Con gain from Lab
Cambridgeshire, Ramsey and Bury, Ref hold
Cherwell, Kidlington East, LDem hold
Norfolk, Old Catton, Con gain from Ref
Peterborough, Fletton & Woodston, Grn gain from Lab
Rushmoor, Wellington, Lab hold
South Staffordshire, Himley & Swindon, Con hold
Stafford, Manor, Lab hold

23 July
East Devon, Exmouth Brixington, Con hold
Medway, Cuxton, Halling & Riverside, Ref gain from Con
South Gloucestershire, Longwell Green, Con hold
Thurrock, Grays Riverside, Lab gain from Ref
Thurrock, Grays Town, Lab gain from Ref

30 July
Bolton, Rumworth, Ind gain from Lab
Eastleigh, Hedge End South, LDem hold
Ynys Mon, Bro’r Llynnoedd, PC hold
South Holland, Long Sutton, Ref gain from Ind
Uttlesford, Great Dunmow North, Con gain from Oth

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Quarter Two 2026 By-Election Results

This quarter 289,878 votes were cast in 110 local authority contests. All percentages are rounded to the nearest single decimal place. 58 council seats changed hands. For comparison you can view Quarter One's results here.

Party	Number of Candidates	Total Vote	%	+/- Q1	+/- Q2 25	Avge/ Contest	+/- Seats
Conservative	109	51,069	17.6%	-0.3	-0.4	469	-4
Labour	95	40,363	13.9%	-1.8	-3.2	425	-15
Lib Dem	94	55,401	19.1%	+3.5	-2.0	589	-3
Reform	113	79,276	27.3%	+2.1	+2.4	702	+21
Green	106	46,177	15.9%	+0.9	+5.2	436	+3
SNP*	2	1,035	0.4%	-2.4	-0.8	518	+1
PC**	12	4,096	1.4%	-0.2	+1.1	341	0
Ind***	40	10,603	3.7%	-0.3	-1.3	265	-3
Other****	11	1,858	0.6%	-1.2	-1.1	168	0

* There were two by-elections in Scotland
** There were 14 by-elections in Wales
*** There were five Independent clashes
**** Other this quarter were Advance UK (28), Alliance to Liberate Scotland (13), Great Yarmouth First (866), Libertarian (3), SDP (49), Together for Bury (193), TUSC (31, 31, 15), Workers' Party of Britain (609), Your Party (20)

Not Labour's worst ever quarterly performance. Q4 2025 holds that crown, but terrible nonetheless. The signs of a turn around in Labour's fortunes in the last week of June were too late to make an impact, except for maybe saving a couple of seats here and there. Apart from that, this is reflective of the new normal in local politics. Reform dominates, the Greens are putting on support, Plaid Cymru are bossing it in Wales, and the Liberal Democrats are getting the votes - though not always the seats, as this quarter attests.

Looking ahead July is going to be a very busy month, and a handful of by-elections have so far been set for September. August is looking like a fallow time. It's fair to say Labour will do better in the quarter to come, but for how long depends on the kind of leadership it offers. Being more relatable than Keir Starmer is no tall order for anyone, but its the policies that matter. By the end of the period we'll know which Andy Burnham has turned up, and council by-elections will reflect that accordingly.

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