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There were two principal council by-elections this week, both of which had a Liberal Democrat candidate on the ballot.

Northumberland Council, Cramlington South West

The Conservatives have gained the seat of Cramlington South West from Reform UK, who only won it themselves in last year’s local elections. But the incumbent councillor had to step down owing to illness. The seat was newly created in 2025. Generally, the Conservatives tend to do quite well in Cramlington, though in this specific seat they finished third behind Reform and Labour last year, while the Liberal Democrats did not put forward a candidate.

This result, alongside Reform’s loss in Kent last week and their reduced majority in the second of this week’s by-elections, may point to a possible “retention problem” for the party. While they finish top of the leaderboard both in terms of gains in by-elections and overall by-election wins since the 2025 locals, they finish third on seats successfully defended, only being able to hold onto less than half at 47%. For context, the Liberal Democrat retention rate over the same period is 80%. It could point to a problem that voters generally seem less enthusiastic about letting Reform back in again once they’ve tried them.

A huge thanks to Nick Cott for ensuring there was a Liberal Democrat option on the ballot paper this time.

Conservatives: 278 – 34.2% (+9.0)

Reform UK: 212 – 26.0% (-13.6)

Labour: 187 – 23.0% (-5.8

Green: 116 – 14.3% (New)

Independent: 13 – 1.6% (New)

Liberal Democrat: 7 – 0.9% (New)

Conservative GAIN from Reform UK

Turnout: 26.88%

There was only one principal council by-election this week. The count took place on Friday morning, so the result didn’t filter through until later on Friday afternoon.

Kent County Council, Cliftonville

The Green Party has taken the seat of Cliftonville in Kent from Reform UK. This result was perhaps inevitable given the turmoil surrounding the previous holder; having only won the seat last year amidst a wave of Reform gains from the Conservatives, the incumbent councillor was suspended by Reform following a guilty plea in February regarding a domestic incident, which ultimately triggered this by-election.

Beyond the individual conduct of the former councillor, the wider Reform administration in Kent is increasingly defined by instability. The local leadership has been plagued by internal infighting with leaked footage online showing disputes between backbenchers and the leadership. This was followed by a series of defections to Rupert Lowe’s splinter group, Restore UK. They’ve also had to U-turn on their flagship pledge to cut council tax earlier this year.

Local commentators framed this contest as a referendum on Reform’s chaotic performance. In this instance, the Green Party successfully consolidated the anti-Reform vote to deliver that message, with the Liberal Democrats starting from an extremely low base in this particular ward.

A big thank you to Mo Shafaei and the team for their hard work in ensuring there was a Liberal Democrat choice on the ballot.

Green Party: 2,068, 38.8% (+26.7)
Reform UK: 1,767, 33.1% (-7.0)
Conservatives: 811, 15.2% (-4.5)
Labour: 557, 10.4% (-11.6)
Independents: 68, 1.3% (New)
Liberal Democrats: 63, 1.2%(-1.9)

Green Party GAIN from Reform

Turnout:  32%

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

There were four principal council by-elections this week, of which all but one had a Liberal Democrat candidate on the ballot. One council seat was being defended by us.

North Devon Council, Fremington

In North Devon, the Liberal Democrats gained a seat from the Independents in Fremington. It should be noted that in 2023, both seats were won by Independents, before Councillor Frank Biederman joined the Liberal Democrats. The by-election was triggered by the sad passing of his ward colleague, who remained as an independent.

Without any independents standing this time, it would seem there was a lot of unknowns in where the vote would go for this time. In this context, not only did the Liberal Democrats manage to fend off Reform and prevent the Greens from establishing themselves as the progressive alternative, but they also increased their vote share by more than any other party. This is particularly impressive when we’re used to seeing these big swings to Reform in other by-elections from a standing start.

A huge congratulations to Cllr Jayne Mackie and the team on running such a successful campaign.

Liberal Democrats: 752 – 49.9% (+42.4)
Reform UK: 496 – 32.9% (new)
Green Party: 131 – 8.7% (New)
Conservatives: 116 – 7.7% (-4.4)
Labour: 12 – 0.8% (-7.8)

Liberal Democrat GAIN from Independents

Turnout:  34.7%