There was a brilliant gain for the Lib Dems in Powys (CC) on Thursday night with candidate James Gibson-Watt polling 44.4% of the vote to secure victory in Glasbury division, with the defending Tories vote share dropping by 10.9% from three years ago. The seat had been vacated by new Conservative Brecon & Radnorshire MP Christopher Davies and the result is even more impressive when considering the party had failed to even stand a candidate in the ward’s two previous elections. The win makes the Lib Dems the second largest party on Powys County Council behind the independents, bringing their representation up to 10 and reducing the Tories to 9 Councillors. Glasbury was also the priority for ALDC’s by-election phonebank, which operates every Thursday night from our Manchester HQ.

Elsewhere, the Conservatives gained a seat from Labour in Pinhoe ward in Exeter (BC) by the narrow margin of 6 votes. Lib Dem candidate Michael Payne polled 63 votes, a minor vote share increase of 0.5% from last May. The result reduces the Council controlling Labour group to 28 members.

In addition, there were two comfortable holds for the SNP in Falkirk and North Lanarkshire, with their candidates polling 69.1% and 51.1% of first preference votes respectively, whilst the Conservatives held their seat in Nuneaton Whitestone division in Warwickshire (CC) with 58.4% of the vote. The Lib Dems came in sixth place in North Lanarkshire with 1% of the vote, with the party not fielding candidates in Falkirk and Warwickshire.

Aside from the principal councils, Lib Dem Pete Hough has been elected unopposed in East ward on Newtown town council in Powys in a gain from the Independent group.

Four principal council by-elections will be contested next week. The Lib Dems in Cornwall (UA) will be hoping for gain from UKIP in Camborne Pendarves ward, with Lib Dem candidates also being fielded in elections in Durham (UA) and West Oxfordshire (DC). There will also be a by-election in Orkney (UA) following the death of a no description councillor.

For more information on the results from last week please click here. If you would like more information on all the forthcoming by-elections as well as details on who to contact for help, click here.

* ALDC is the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors and Campaigners