Five principal authority by-elections took place across England and Wales on Thursday 22nd October.

Labour were defending two seats (in Leeds and Carmarthenshire), the Conservatives defended one in Wychavon, the Green Party defended one in East Hertfordshire, and an Independent defended one in South Kesteven.

It proved to be a productive night for the Conservatives, who held their seat in Worcestershire and secured three gains from three different parties – taking seats from the Greens in Hertfordshire, Labour in Leeds, and an Independent in Lincolnshire.

For the Liberal Democrats, it was an undeniably tough set of contests where our vote was squeezed in non-target territory and in a disappointing result in East Hertfordshire.

Elsewhere, Reform UK and the Greens continued to experience electoral friction amidst wider national controversies, while Labour’s night was mixed – losing two seats, but showing signs of vote share recovery in West Yorkshire compared to earlier this spring.

Leeds City Council, Calverley and Farsley – 22 October 2026

Over in West Yorkshire, the Conservatives gained the Calverley and Farsley ward on Leeds City Council from Labour in a contest triggered by the resignation of former Labour councillor Peter Carlill on health grounds.

Leeds is currently governed by a Labour minority administration after the party lost eight seats in the May 2026 local elections, leaving them on 48 of 99 seats. Calverley and Farsley is a three-member ward elected by thirds, where Labour had previously held two seats and the Conservatives one.

In a crowded field of seven candidates, Conservative candidate Amanda Carter took the seat with 40.2% of the vote. While technically a seat loss for Labour compared to their 2023 defence, their 36.8% vote share actually represented a 9.5-point rebound compared to their May 2026 local election showing in the ward. The Liberal Democrats have not historically had an active base in this part of Leeds, and candidate Stuart McLeod was squeezed by the intense two-party battle at the top of the ballot.

Thank you to Stuart McLeod for ensuring local residents had a Liberal Democrat choice on the ballot paper in a crowded contest!

Conservative: 2330 (40.2%, +4.8%)
Labour: 2134 (36.8%, -18%)
Reform UK: 693 (12%, new)
Green Party: 341 (5.9%, +2.4%)
Restore: 151 (2.6%, new)
Lib Dem (Stuart McLeod): 92 (1.6%, -1.3%)
Yorkshire Party: 57 (1%, -2.5%)

Turnout: 32.2%

Conservative GAIN from Labour

East Hertfordshire DC, Hertford Kingsmead – 22 October 2026

In Hertfordshire, the Conservatives gained a seat from the Green Party in the Hertford Kingsmead ward of East Hertfordshire District Council following a councillor resignation.

East Herts has been run by a joint Green-Liberal Democrat administration since the historic 2023 local elections, when the Conservatives lost 24 seats and their longstanding majority. In that election, the Greens surged to 19 seats, the Conservatives finished on 16, and the Liberal Democrats advanced to 10 seats, leaving the council under a delicately balanced leadership. The Greens had swept all three seats in Hertford Kingsmead in 2023 with a comfortable seven-point cushion over the Conservatives.

In Thursday’s by-election, the Conservatives took the seat by a narrow margin of 46 votes. The result reflects a continuing trend seen in recent weeks where the Green vote has softened in more rural and district councils, impacted by national controversies and perceptions that the party has pivoted toward hard-left politics over traditional local environmental priorities.

For the Liberal Democrats, this was an undeniably disappointing result, with our vote share falling to 6.7%. In a fiercely contested two-horse race between our coalition partners and the Conservatives, our vote was likely to be heavily squeezed, but unclear whether it was anti-Green electors tactically consolidating behind the Tories, progressive voters trying to stop a Conservative win, or both.

Thank you to Elif Lewis for flying the Liberal Democrat flag in a very tough, polarised contest!

Conservative: 575 (35.3%, +8.9%)
Green Party: 529 (32.4, -4.4%)
Reform UK: 253 (15.5%, new)
Labour: 164 (10.1%, -5.7%)
Lib Dem (Elif Lewis): 110 (6.7%, -14.3%)

Turnout: 24%

Conservative GAIN from Green Party

Carmarthenshire CC, Saron – 22 October 2026

In South Wales, Plaid Cymru gained the Saron division on Carmarthenshire County Council from Labour following the sad passing of sitting councillor Peter Cooper.

Plaid Cymru holds a narrow majority on Carmarthenshire Council with 38 seats, with Labour acting as the main opposition on 23 seats, while the Liberal Democrats hold no representation in the county. At the last regular election in 2022, Saron elected one Plaid Cymru and one Labour councillor with less than a percentage point between them. The Labour win was a gain from Plaid.

Thursday’s by-election saw Plaid Cymru comfortably reclaim the seat with 43.9% of the vote. The Labour vote collapsed by over 21 percentage points down to 17.6%, largely shifting to Reform UK who surged into second place with 28%—mirroring trends seen in the Senedd elections earlier this year where Reform and Plaid are largely squeezing Labour out.

Thank you to Caryl Tandy for putting a Liberal Democrat choice on the ballot paper in a tough Welsh contest!

Plaid Cymru: 397 (43.9%, +4.2%)
Reform UK: 253 (28%, new)
Labour: 159 (17.6%, -21.6%)
Conservative: 44 (4.9%, new)
Independent: 41 (4.5%, new)
Lib Dem (Caryl Tandy): 11 (1.2%, -6.6%)

Turnout: 26.6%

Plaid Cymru GAIN from Labour

South Kesteven DC, Grantham St Wulframs – 22 October 2026

In Lincolnshire, the Conservatives gained a seat from an Independent in the Grantham St Wulfram’s ward of South Kesteven District Council following a councillor resignation.

South Kesteven was historically a Conservative bastion, but their dominance has steadily receded – falling from 45 seats in 2015 to 24 in 2023, leaving the authority under No Overall Control. While the Liberal Democrats enjoy a strong base in the south of the district around Stamford, the party has not contested this Grantham division for several cycles.

In 2023, an Independent topped the poll in this two-member ward alongside a Conservative. This by-election saw the Conservatives take the Independent seat with 38.3% of the vote, holding off a second-place challenge from Reform UK while two Independent candidates and Labour divided the remaining vote. No Liberal Democrat candidate stood.

Conservative: 437 (38.3%, +4.6%)
Reform UK: 286 (25.1%, new)
Independent: 149 (13.1%, new)
Labour: 141, 12.4%  (-4.1%)
Green Party: 74, (6.5%, -7.2%)
Independent: 54 (4.7%, new)

Turnout 28.5%

Conservative GAIN from Independent

Wychavon DC, Hartlebury – 22 October 2026

Across in Worcestershire, the Conservatives defended the Hartlebury ward of Wychavon District Council following a resignation.

Wychavon remains under Conservative majority control, but again with support dropping since 2015. They won 39/46 seats in 2015, slowly decreasing as the Green Party and Lib Dems picked up seats. In 2019 they won 36/46 and in 2023 29/46. Lib Dems currently sit as the primary opposition group on seven seats. Hartlebury itself has long been safe Conservative territory; back in 2019, the Liberal Democrats were the sole challengers in a two-horse race, though no Liberal Democrat candidate stood in this by-election.

In 2023 the field was contested by the Conservatives, Lib Dems, Green Party and an Independent. Very strangely, at the by-election, the field has almost entirely changed colours with Reform UK and Labour standing this time and only the Conservatives contesting again.

The Conservatives held the ward with just under half the vote on 49.9%, while Reform UK secured second place with 37.7% and Labour trailed in third.

Conservative: 315 (49.9%, -7.6%)
Reform UK: 238 (37.7%, new)
Labour: 78 (12.4%, new)

Turnout: 25.3%

Conservative 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