The final 2 council by-elections of the 23/24 civic year took place this week.
In Scotland, there was a by-election on Angus Council in Arbroath West, Letham & Friockheim ward. Thank you to Sandra O’Shea for not only standing for the Liberal Democrats here but working hard to secure an increase in Lib Dem vote share and a healthy 333 votes. The by-election was caused by the resignation of an Independent councillor. With no Independent standing this time the Conservatives gained the seat.
Thank you once again to Sandra and the local Lib Dem team in Angus for working so hard and moving the Lib Dems forwards here.
Angus Council, Arbroath West, Letham & Friockheim
Conservative: 1682 (41.9%, +10.5%)
SNP: 1175 (29.3%, -6.9%)
Labour: 644 (16.1%, +9.6%)
Liberal Democrats (Sandra O’Shea): 333 (8.3%, +3.9%)
Green Party: 176 (4.4%, +1.1%)
In Wales, there was a by-election on Cardiff Council in Grangetown ward. Thank you to James Bear for flying the Lib Dem flag in this election and making sure Lib Dem voters had someone representing them on the ballot.
Labour held the seat with a reduced vote share.
Cardiff Council, Grangetown
Labour: 1470 (47.5%, -5.6%)
Plaid Cymru / Green: 573 (18.5%, -9.3%)
Conservative: 387 (12.5%, +3.5%)
Propel: 292 (9.4%, +6.2%)
Independent: 205 (6.6%, new)
Liberal Democrats (James Bear): 123 (4%, -0.9%)
Independent: 44 (1.4%, new)
A full summary of all results can be found on the ALDC by-elections page here.
Next week there are over 70 principal council by-elections that have been called to coincide with local election polling day. Some are ‘double vacancies’ in wards that have existing local election contests. ALDC will report the results of these by-elections in the week following the local election and results will be recorded on our by-election results webpage.
Good luck to everyone standing in a by-election or local election contest next week.
* Charles Quinn is Campaigns Organiser for ALDC and a local councillor in Hull.
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For those interested in a longer term view rather than one week’s results here is my monthly data for the last fifty local by-elections up to the end of April:
Liberal Democrats 29.9%, Conservatives 27.8%, Labour 24.7%, Greens 6.8%, Reform UK 0.5%, Others 10.9%
Gains and losses are:
Lib Dems: Net gain of five: 6 gains, 13 held, 1 lost
Green: No change: 1 gain, 1 held, 0 lost
Residents: No change: 0 gain, 1 hold, 0 lost
Plaid Cymru: Net loss of one 1 gain, 0 held, 2 lost
Independents: Net loss of two: 2 gains, 4 held, 5 lost
Labour: Net loss of one: 3 gains, 6 held, 4 lost
Conservatives: Net loss of two: 4 gains, 8 held, 6 lost
Liberal Democrats won 19 seats, Conservatives 12, Labour 9, Independents 6, Greens 2, Plaid Cymru 1, Residents 1.
This data is for the most recent 50 by-elections in England & Wales (21st December 2023 to 25th April 2024). Parish/Town councils are not included.