Six principal authority by-elections took place across England on Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th September.

The Conservatives were defending two seats (in South Staffordshire and Berkshire), Labour defended two seats (in Milton Keynes and Brighton & Hove), localist party Tunbridge Wells Alliance defended one in Kent, and the Green Party defended one in Gloucestershire.

The highlight of the week came from Kent, where the Liberal Democrats staged a sensational victory in Tunbridge Wells – surging from third place in May to win the ward with 37.4% of the vote. In Berkshire, we came within a whisper of another major gain in Bray, boosting our vote share by +20.1% to fall just 26 votes short of the Conservatives on a council we flipped in 2023. Over in the Cotswolds, Danny Loveridge delivered an impressive performance from a standing start to take a clear second place as the Green vote collapsed, while Labour and the Greens exchanged seats on Brighton and Hove Council.

South East

Tunbridge Wells DC, Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden

In Kent, the Liberal Democrats secured an extraordinary gain in the Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden ward of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.

The Liberal Democrats took control of Tunbridge Wells Council in 2024 before going on to win the parliamentary constituency at the July 2024 General Election. When this three-member ward was run on new boundaries in 2024, the Conservatives took two seats and the localist Tunbridge Wells Alliance won the third. In the local elections earlier in May 2026, the Conservatives held their seat while our candidate finished third behind Reform UK.

This by-election saw a dramatic turnaround. Supported by an energetic campaign team, Harry Wormington achieved a huge +22.9% surge in vote share to leapfrog both Reform UK and the Conservatives, winning the seat outright with 37.4% of the vote.

Huge congratulations to Cllr Harry Wormington and the team on a phenomenal win against both the Tories and Reform UK!

Lib Dem (Harry Wormington): 697 (37.4%, +22.9%)

Conservative: 590 (31.6%, -14.6%)

Reform UK: 392 (21.0%, -4.4%)

Green Party: 188 (10.0%, -3.9%)

Liberal Democrat GAIN from Tunbridge Wells Alliance

Windsor and Maidenhead Council, Bray

In Berkshire, the Conservatives narrowly held off a major Liberal Democrat surge in the Bray ward of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

The Liberal Democrats famously ended decades of Conservative control in 2023 to take overall governance of the council. Bray has historically been a solid Conservative stronghold, with the Tories holding one seat and the Borough First Independents winning the other in 2023, while the Liberal Democrats finished third.

This by-election saw a remarkable performance from candidate Joanna Korczak. From a third-place baseline, our vote share rocketed by +20.1% to 34.9%, squeezing the localist Independents down under 10% and pushing the Conservatives to the absolute wire, missing out on a historic win by just 26 votes.

A huge thank you to Joanna Korczak and the team in Windsor and Maidenhead for an extraordinary effort that firmly puts this ward in play for future elections!

Conservative: 745 (36.1%, +1.3%)

Lib Dem (Joanna Korczak): 719 (34.9%, +20.1%)

Reform UK: 368 (17.8%, new)

Borough First Independents: 193 (9.4%, -32.9%)

Labour: 38 (1.8%, -6.3%)

Conservative HOLD

Milton Keynes City Council, New Bradwell

In Buckinghamshire, Labour was defending the New Bradwell ward following the tragic passing of a 28-year-old local councillor who was elected earlier this May.

Following the May 2026 local elections, Milton Keynes City Council moved to No Overall Control, with the Liberal Democrats becoming the largest party on the council. In New Bradwell, Labour comfortably held the seat with an increased vote share against a competitive multi-party field.

Thank you to Martin Clarke for representing the party and ensuring a Liberal Democrat choice on the ballot paper.

Labour: 1,023 (54.2%, +19.7%)

Reform UK: 441 (23.4%, -3.1%)

Green Party: 175 (9.3%, -12.5%)

Conservative: 160 (8.5%, -2.6%)

Lib Dem (Martin Clarke): 87 (4.6%, -1.5%)

Labour HOLD

Brighton and Hove Council, Queens Park

Down on the Sussex coast, the Green Party gained a seat from Labour in the Queens Park ward of Brighton and Hove Council.

Queens Park has long been a key battleground between Labour and the Greens. Following Green governance of the city in the 2010s, Labour won majority control of the council in 2023 at the height of their pre-GE2024 popularity, sweeping both seats in Queens Park. In this by-election, the Greens won back one seat in the ward with over 50% of the vote.

Thank you to Rudi Dikty-Daudiyan for flying the Liberal Democrat flag in this highly polarising two-party contest.

Green Party: 1,139 (50.1%, +1.8%)

Labour: 802 (35.2%, +4.2%)

Reform UK: 160 (7.0%, -3.1%)

Conservative: 97 (4.3%, +0.8%)

Lib Dem (Rudi Dikty-Daudiyan): 74 (3.3%, -0.9%)

Green Party GAIN from Labour

South West

Cotswold DC, Blockley

In Gloucestershire, the Conservatives gained the Blockley ward on Cotswold District Council from the Green Party.

The Liberal Democrats took majority control of Cotswold District Council from the Conservatives in 2019 and reinforced our majority in 2023. The Green Party had previously won Blockley in a head-to-head fight with the Conservatives in 2023. However, this result marks another sharp decline for the Greens in rural, affluent areas – following a similar -51.7% drop in The Rissingtons ward earlier this year – as their vote shifts towards urban centres.

Danny Loveridge delivered a fantastic performance for the Liberal Democrats, securing 30.1% of the vote share from a standing start and pulling well clear of Reform UK, the Greens, and Labour.

Thank you to Danny Loveridge and the local campaign team for establishing a strong new baseline for us in this division!

Conservative: 431 (54.0%, +10.3%)

Lib Dem (Danny Loveridge): 230 (30.1%, new)

Reform UK: 59 (7.4%, new)

Green Party: 54 (6.8%, -49.5%)

Labour: 14 (1.8%, new)

Conservative GAIN from Green Party

West Midlands

South Staffordshire DC, Wombourne North

In the West Midlands, the Conservatives defended the Wombourne North ward on South Staffordshire District Council.

South Staffordshire is a strong Conservative area where the party retains a healthy majority, despite Liberal Democrat gains across the council in 2023 (gaining 4 seats). In Wombourne North – a new ward created in 2023 – the contest developed into a right-wing squeeze between the Conservatives and Reform UK, crowding out all progressive parties.

Thank you to Michael Jones for standing and ensuring local residents had a Liberal Democrat candidate to vote for in tough territory.

Conservative: 864 (50.1%, +8.1%)

Reform UK: 645 (37.4%, new)

Labour: 115 (6.8%, -12.3%)

Green Party: 68 (3.9%, -16.1%)

Lib Dem (Michael Jones): 33 (1.9%, -7.3%)

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