There were two principal authority by-elections across England, Wales and Scotland this week, both held on Thursday 13 August. The Liberal Democrats were not defending either seat, with Reform UK defending Almondbury on Kirklees MBC and Labour defending Honiton St Michael’s on East Devon DC.

It was an excellent night for the Liberal Democrats, with gains in both wards. In Almondbury, Paola Davies returned to the council just three months after losing her seat as Reform swept all three positions at the May local elections. In Honiton St Michael’s, Rhys Wallis took a seat which Labour had won in 2023 but which had subsequently become vacant after its former councillor left the party and sat as an Independent.

Kirklees MBC, Almondbury

Almondbury produced one of the clearest reversals of the May local elections.

The May 2026 election was fought on new boundaries, with three councillors elected and 15 candidates standing. Reform won all three seats, with Gill Floyd, Pip Harvey and Craig Wiles finishing ahead of the three Liberal Democrat candidates. Poala Davies was the strongest-placed Liberal Democrat, on 1,755 votes, while Reform’s three candidates polled between 2,060 and 2,224.

Just weeks later, Wiles resigned from the council, triggering this by-election. That gave Davies the opportunity to return to the ward she had represented previously, and she did so in emphatic fashion. Her 671-vote majority over Reform is particularly striking given that the party had swept the ward only three months earlier. The Liberal Democrat campaign was supported by a grant from ALDC’s Fighting Fund.

The result also provides an important reminder that May’s Reform breakthrough throughout Kirklees was not necessarily a settled realignment. It shows a continued trend of Reform UK not being able to retain seats which they have won recently. It may point to voters not being satisfied with their performance in office, despite big promises and an appeal to the fresh and new when they first stand.

Huge congratulations to Paola Davies and the team on a superb return to the council.

Liberal Democrats: 1,749 (43.9%, +14.5)
Reform UK: 1,078 (27.0%, -10.0)
Conservatives: 528 (13.2%, +4.4)
Green Party: 347 (8.7%, -8.0)
Labour: 181 (4.5%, -3.4)
Independent: 103 (2.6%, new)

Turnout: 29.5%

LIBERAL DEMOCRAT GAIN from REFORM UK

East Devon DC, Honiton St Michael

Honiton St Michael has a particularly interesting recent electoral history. The ward was a three-member ward at the 2023 election, when the Conservatives won one seat, Labour gained one from the Conservatives and the Liberal Party gained one from the Liberal Democrats. Neither the Liberal Democrats nor Reform stood in that election.

Cllr Bonetta for Labour subsequently left the party and became an Independent in May 2025. They remained the councillor for St Michael’s before resigning in 2026, when the vacancy was called. ALDC’s by-election records classify the seat as a Labour seat, reflecting the party under which Bonetta was originally elected.

The ward has a history of competitive and changing contests. In 2019, the Conservatives won two of the three seats while Liberal Democrat Luke Jeffery won the third. Jeffery’s resignation in 2021 triggered another St Michael’s by-election, which Labour won with 58%, taking the seat from the Liberal Democrats. The wider East Devon political picture has remained fluid too: the council has been under no overall control since 2023, with a Democratic Alliance of Liberal Democrats, Greens and Independents currently the largest grouping.

This time, Rhys Wallis secured the seat for the Liberal Democrats, finishing 326 votes ahead of Reform UK and 401 ahead of the Conservatives. The result is particularly notable given that the Liberal Democrats did not contest the ward at the previous full election and that Reform had also not stood in 2023. Turnout of 28.7% was actually slightly higher than the 26.7% recorded at the three-seat 2023 election. Thank you to Rhys Wallis for a well-fought campaign and congratulations to him and the local team on an important gain.

Liberal Democrats: 727 (45.4%, new)
Reform UK: 401 (24.9%, new)
Conservatives: 326 (20.3%, -10.2)
Independent: 74 (4.6%, -16.0)
Labour: 55 (3.4%, -22.4)
Independent: 19 (1.2%, new)

Turnout: 28.7%

LIBERAL DEMOCRAT GAIN from LABOUR

A full summary of these results, and all other principal council by-elections, can be found on the ALDC by-elections page

* Joe Nutt is a Campaigns and Communications Officer for ALDC