Five principal authority elections took place across England and Wales on Thursday 30th July.

The Liberal Democrats were defending one seat in Hampshire, while Plaid Cymru were defending one seat in North Wales. Localist group Residents for Uttlesford (R4U) and Independents were defending one seat each in Essex and Lincolnshire, respectively. Four results have been declared so far, with the final result being counted today.

Eastleigh BC, Hedge End South

In Hampshire, the Liberal Democrats were seeking to defend Hedge End South on Eastleigh Borough Council. Eastleigh has been under solid Liberal Democrat control for decades, with our party holding 35 of the 39 council seats prior to this vote.

Despite a five-party field, we successfully held the seat with an increased vote share of 46.1%—up 2.7 points from the previous election. We built on our strong local campaign to extend our lead over the second-placed Conservatives to over 21 percentage points, while Reform UK saw their vote share fall back.

Huge congratulations to the new Liberal Democrat Cllr Jim Paine and the Eastleigh team on a fantastic win!

Lib Dem (Jim Paine): 1,086 (46.1%, +2.7%)
Conservative: 589 (25.0%, +4.1%)
Reform UK: 443 (18.8%, -8.2%)
Green Party: 199 (8.4%, -0.3%)
Labour: 41 (1.7%, new)

Turnout: 27.4%

Liberal Democrat HOLD

Uttlesford DC, Great Dunmow North

Over in Essex, localist group Residents for Uttlesford (R4U) were defending a seat in Great Dunmow North following a councillor resignation. R4U took majority control of Uttlesford District Council in 2019, but this multi-member ward has historically seen competitive contests between localists and Conservatives.

The Conservatives gained the seat as the R4U vote collapsed by nearly 30 percentage points. Reform UK finished in second place, while our candidate fought in what has traditionally been tough territory for us.

Thank you to Lorraine Flawn for standing and making sure local residents had a Liberal Democrat choice on the ballot paper.

Conservative: 705 (50.5%, +11.9%)
Reform UK: 390 (27.9%, new)
Residents for Uttlesford: 138 (9.9%, -29.5%)
Labour: 126 (9.0%, -3.3%)
Lib Dem (Lorraine Flawn): 37 (2.7%, -7.1%)

Turnout: 28.8%

Conservative GAIN from Residents for Uttlesford

Bolton MBC, Rumworth

Over in Greater Manchester, Labour was defending a seat in the Rumworth ward of Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council. Bolton elects its council by thirds, and while Rumworth was historically a reliable Labour ward, it has seen increasing electoral volatility in recent cycles. Despite winning all three seats on a boundary change election in 2023, an Independent took one seat back in 2024, and then the Green Party made a high-profile breakthrough here in the local elections earlier this May, winning nearly half the vote.

This by-election saw Labour wiped out from the ward. An Independent candidate surged into first place with 42.3% of the vote, while the Green Party vote share fell back significantly. In a crowded field of seven candidates, the Liberal Democrats were operating in tough electoral territory.

Thank you to Gillian Wroe for standing and ensuring local voters had a Liberal Democrat candidate on the ballot paper.

Independent: 1,458 (42.3%, new)
Labour: 1,054 (30.6%, -4.5%)
Green Party: 517 (15.0%, -34.7%)
Reform UK: 279 (8.1%, -1.7%)
Conservative: 60 (1.7%, -1.4%)
Independent: 45 (1.3%, new)
Lib Dem (Gillian Wroe): 37 (1.1%, -1.8%)

Independent GAIN from Labour

South Holland DC, Long Sutton

In Lincolnshire, an Independent seat was up for grabs in the Long Sutton ward of South Holland District Council. South Holland has long been dominated by Conservative and Independent councillors, with Independents historically commanding strong personal support in Long Sutton.

No Liberal Democrat candidate stood in this division. Reform UK won the seat from the Independent defender, securing over half of the vote in a three-way contest against the Conservatives and Green Party.

Reform UK: 866 (54.9%, new)
Conservative: 445 (28.2%, -20.7%)
Green Party: 267 (16.9%, new)

Turnout: 26.3%

Reform UK GAIN from Independent

Ynys Môn CC, Bro’r Llynnoedd

Moving across to North Wales, Plaid Cymru were defending a seat on Anglesey (Ynys Môn) in the Bro’r Llynnoedd division. Plaid Cymru currently lead the minority administration running Anglesey Council following the 2022 local elections.

No Liberal Democrat candidate was fielded here. Plaid Cymru successfully held the seat, comfortably expanding their vote share by nearly 14 points to beat off a challenge from Reform UK, while the Conservative vote share dropped into single digits.

Plaid Cymru: 551 (48.5%, +13.8%)
Reform UK: 446 (39.3%, new)
Conservative: 93 (8.2%, -14.1%)
Green Party: 45 (4.0%, new)

Plaid Cymru HOLD

A full summary of these results, and all other principal council by-elections, can be found on the ALDC by-elections page here.

* Joe Nutt is a Campaigns and Communications Officer for ALDC