Five principal authority by-elections took place across England on Thursday 27th August.

Labour were defending two seats (in Wandsworth and Sheffield), Reform UK were defending two seats (in Newcastle and St Helens), and the Conservatives were defending one seat in Dover.

The standout performance of the week for the Liberal Democrats came in Newcastle, where an extraordinary campaign saw us vault from 5th place all the way into a clear 2nd with a massive 24.3 percentage point surge in vote share. Elsewhere, Reform UK gained a seat from Labour in Sheffield while losing another to Labour in St Helens, and the Green Party unseated the Conservatives in Dover.

Newcastle City Council, Throckley, Walbottle and Newburn

In Tyneside, the Liberal Democrats delivered an exceptional result in the Throckley, Walbottle and Newburn ward on Newcastle City Council following a councillor resignation.

This result comes against the backdrop of a historic milestone on Newcastle City Council earlier this May, when the Liberal Democrats became the largest party on the council and formed a minority administration supported by confidence and supply from the Green Party.

Supported by a grant from ALDC’s Fighting Fund, Stephen Kelly and the local campaign team delivered a stunning campaign in what has historically been tough territory for us. We rocketed from 5th place straight into 2nd, boosting our vote share by a massive +24.3% to finish within striking distance of Reform UK, while pushing Labour down into 3rd place. This outstanding momentum sets up a fantastic springboard for the next set of local elections in this division.

A huge thank you and congratulations to Stephen Kelly and the entire campaign team in Newcastle for an inspiring result!

Reform UK: 901 (39.0%, -4.8%)
Lib Dem (Stephen Kelly): 670 (29.0%, +24.3%)
Labour: 534 (23.1%, -5.9%)
Green Party: 103 (4.5%, -9.2%)
Conservative: 101 (4.4%, -4.4%)

Reform UK HOLD

St Helens MBC, Billinge and Seneley Green

Over in Merseyside, Labour was seeking to regain the Billinge and Seneley Green ward on St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the sitting Reform UK councillor – marking yet another instance of a Reform UK representative resigning after only a few months in office.

Labour comfortably reclaimed the seat with a 18.8 point increase in their vote share, benefiting from local frustration over Reform UK’s lack of longevity and community presence. No Liberal Democrat candidate stood in this ward, which saw two Independents, the Greens, and Conservatives compete alongside the top two contenders.

Labour: 1,158 (41.3%, +18.8%)
Reform UK: 892 (31.8%, -2.6%)
Independent: 496 (17.7%, new)
Green Party: 106 (3.8%, -9.2%)
Conservative: 84 (3.3%, -4.5%)
Independent: 60 (2.1%, new)

Labour GAIN from Reform UK

Sheffield City Council, Southey

In South Yorkshire, Labour were defending the Southey ward on Sheffield City Council following a vacancy. Sheffield operates under a committee system with no overall control, where Labour remains the largest group followed by the Liberal Democrats and Greens.

Reform UK gained the seat from Labour with just over half of the total vote. However, Labour’s share did jump up significantly. This is a multi-member ward where elections take place in thirds. The result compares the by-election to the result in the local election this year where Reform UK won the seat. However, this particular seat was lasted contested in 2024 when Labour won it.

Thank you to Oliver George for standing and ensuring a Liberal Democrat choice was available on the ballot paper in a challenging northern ward.

Reform UK: 1,133 (50.6%, +0.6%)
Labour: 836 (37.3%, +12.8%)
Green Party: 146 (6.5%, -6.4%)
Conservative: 69 (3.1%, -1.7%)
Lib Dem (Oliver George): 56 (2.5%, -2.2%)

Reform UK HOLD

Dover DC, Guston, Kingsdown and St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe

Down on the Kent coast, the Conservatives were defending a seat in the Guston, Kingsdown and St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe ward of Dover District Council. Dover has been under Labour control since 2023, though this rural coastal division had historically been solid Conservative territory.

In a highly crowded multi-party contest featuring six candidates, the Green Party gained the seat from the Conservatives, edging out Reform UK by just 34 votes. The Conservative vote share collapsed by 16 percentage points, dropping them into third place behind Reform UK. No Liberal Democrat candidate stood in this election.

Green Party: 767 (28.8%, +2.7%)
Reform UK: 733 (27.5%, new)
Conservative: 456 (17.1%, -16.0%)
Labour: 389 (14.6%, -9.2%)
Restore: 284 (10.7%, new)
Independent: 35 (1.3%, new)

Turnout: 45.0%

Green Party GAIN from Conservative

Wandsworth LBC, Trinity

Finally in South London, Labour defended a seat in the Trinity ward of Wandsworth London Borough Council. Labour gained control of Wandsworth in 2022 after 44 years of Conservative governance. In 2026, the Conservatives took seven seats off Labour, making them the largest party once again, but one seat short of a majority. The Conservatives winning in this competitive battleground seat between Labour and the Conservatives would have had huge consequences in not having to rely on the single Independent councillor to prop up the administration.

However, Labour held the seat with a modest increase in vote share, fending off a Conservative challenge. Wandsworth is a bit of a quirk as one of a couple of areas in London which clings to the traditional two-party, red/blue dominance. As such, all other parties saw their vote squeezed.

Thank you to Dylan Henderson for representing the Liberal Democrats and ensuring local residents had an orange option on their ballot paper.

Labour: 1,558 (47.5%, +8.8%)
Conservative: 1,431 (43.6%, +9.0%)
Green Party: 168 (5.1%, -10.8%)
Lib Dem (Dylan Henderson): 75 (2.3%, -3.0%)
Reform UK: 51 (1.6%, -2.6%)

Labour HOLD

A full summary of these results, and all other principal council by-elections, can be found on the ALDC by-elections page here: https://www.aldc.org/category/by-election-results/

* Joe Nutt is a Campaigns and Communications Officer for ALDC