There were three principal council by-elections this week, and all three had a Liberal Democrat on the ballot.
In Redcar, this by‑election brought a much broader field than the last contest, with five parties on the ballot. Congratulations to Councillor Alison Barnes and the local Liberal Democrat team, who secured a convincing win, taking the seat from an Independent who had originally been elected for Labour.
Redcar and Cleveland Council, Zetland
Liberal Democrats (Alison Barnes): 446 (50.8%, +15.5)
Labour: 191 (21.6%, –25.2)
Reform UK: 119 (13.5%, new)
Green Party: 65 (7.4%, new)
Conservative: 62 (7.0%, –10.9)
Liberal Democrats GAIN from Independent (elected as Labour)
Turnout: 26.78%
In Leicester, the by‑election saw an even more crowded race, with voters choosing from a wide mix of parties and independents. The Greens came through to take the seat from Labour, finishing slightly ahead in a close contest. Thank you to Asit Sodha and the local team for flying the Liberal Democrat flag.
Leicester City Council, Stoneygate
Green Party: 1,195 (30.4%, +22.9)
Labour: 1,089 (27.7%, –12.8)
One Leicester: 638 (16.2%, new)
Independent (Noor): 453 (11.5%, new)
Conservative: 327 (8.3%, –15.3)
Reform UK: 106 (2.7%, new)
Liberal Democrats (Asit Sodha): 62 (1.6%, –5.9)
Independent (Barker): 61 (1.6%, new)
Green Party GAIN from Labour
Turnout: 27.75%
In Caerphilly, there was a very different contest from last time, as more than two parties contested this seat. Plaid Cymru were able to gain this seat off Labour, with the latter slipping to third place behind Reform. Thank you to Tony Potts and the local team for flying the Liberal Democrat flag.
Caerphilly CBC, Van
Plaid Cymru: 374 (43.3%, –2.0)
Reform UK: 246 (28.5%, new)
Labour: 231 (26.8%, –27.9)
Liberal Democrats (Tony Potts): 12 (1.4%, new)
Plaid Cymru GAIN from Labour
Turnout: 25.83%
Thank you to all of our candidates, agents, and campaign teams. A full summary of these results, and all other principal council by-elections, can be found on the ALDC by-elections page here.
* Liam Yip is the Campaigns and Communications Intern at ALDC
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6 Comments
Excellent result in Zetland. Really good we had a candidate in every contest.
What strange results – a 1.4%, a 1.6% and a 50.8% for us.
A very poor set of results for Reform, perhaps a straw in the wind ?
The Leicester result was historic as the first time that “Your Party” stood though following current policy they are not standing under that label but as Independents, two Independents of course, one for each faction.
That ward in Leicester had a libdem councillor before labour took it from us during the coalition. Now labour have finally lost it but not only did we fail to be the ones to take it, we also only got 1.6%. Accounting for turnout that’s about 0.5% of the electorate!
We did well in Leicester following the Iraq war, Gaza should have revived us, instead we’re dying there and letting the greens take our place, as is the case in a great many other places.
Here is my usual month-end summary of the last fifty local by-elections.
Percentage Vote Share:
Reform UK 26.75%, Conservatives 20.21%, Greens 15.26%, Liberal Democrats 14.86%, Labour 12.58%, Independents 5.20%, Others 5.14%
The Greens have overtaken the Lib Dems for the first time ever. Sadly, the Lib Dems are at their lowest level since January 2023.
Gains and losses are:
Reform: Net gain of fifteen: 16 gains, 2 held, 1 lost
Others: Net gain of two: 3 gains, 2 held, 1 lost
Greens: Net gain of one: 4 gains, 1 held, 3 lost
Lib Dems: Net gain of one: 5 gains, 6 held, 4 lost
Independents: Net loss of one: 1 gain, 0 held, 2 lost
Conservatives: Net loss of six: 2 gains, 5 held, 8 lost
Labour: Net loss of twelve: 0 gains, 3 held, 12 lost
The last Labour gain was on 21st November 2024.
Seats Won:
Reform 18, Liberal Democrats 11, Conservatives 7, Greens 5, Others 5, Labour 3, Independents 1
The above data is for the most recent 50 by-elections in England & Wales (6th November 2025 to 19th February 2026). Parish/Town councils are not included.
@Paul Barker
The Reform percentage share in local by-elections in my monthly tables since June 2025 has been consistently in the range 25.83% to 28.63%. I can see no evidence of any decline in their vote. (There is no evidence of any increase either).