Last night a the Tories won a council seat off Reform in the Newark West (Nottinghamshire) Council By-Election. Eight votes in it…
The by-election was triggered after a Reform councillor stepped down less than a week after the locals due to a health issue. Reform is still running the council with a whopping 41 seats compared to the Tories’ 18…
Newark West (Nottinghamshire) Council By-Election Result:
🌳 CON: 34.7% (+4.8)
➡️ RFM: 34.3% (-1.6)
🌹 LAB: 16.1% (-3.9)
🌍 GRN: 9.7% (+2.1)
🔶 LDM: 4.6% (-1.9)
🔴 SDP: 0.6% (New)Conservative GAIN from Reform
Changes w/ 2025— GB Politics (@GBPolitcs) July 3, 2025
The election is covered by Robert Jenrick’s constituency. The shadow justice secretary was present at the count and celebrated the win…
The Tories also held their Fulham Town seat in Hammersmith & Fulham Council last night with a drop of only 1.7 points. Good local news for Conservatives is as rare as it comes…
It’s a victory for Labour in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election. Tight margins…
- Labour – 8,559 (31.6%)
- SNP – 7,957 (29.4%)
- Reform – 7,088 (26.1%)
- Conservatives – 1,621 (6%)
- Green – 695 (2.6%)
- LibDems – 533 (2%)
A 26% result for Reform will leave the party smiling. The SNP’s majority of 4,582 in 2021 has been overturned by Labour’s Davy Russell who took the seat. Alarm bells for the SNP…
Reform have overturned a 14,700 Labour majority in Runcorn & Helsby. After a full recount…
- Reform 12,645
- Labour 12,639
- Conservatives 2,341
- Green 2,314
- LibDem 942
New MP Sarah Pochin says “we have made history here tonight. Together, let’s make a better future.” Win for Reform in the first by-election of the parliament…
Labour says: “By-elections are always difficult for the party in government and the events which led to this one being called made it even harder. Voters are still rightly furious with the state of the country after 14 years of failure and clearly expect the Government to move faster with the Plan for Change. While Labour has suffered an extremely narrow defeat, the shock is that the Conservative vote has collapsed. Moderate voters are clearly appalled by the talk of a Tory-Reform pact.” One of the safest Labour seats in the country there…
The Tories say: “This result is a damning verdict on Keir Starmer’s leadership which has led to Labour losing a safe seat. Just 10 months ago Labour won an enormous majority, including in this seat with 52% of the vote, but their policies have been a punch in the face for the people of Runcorn. Snatching Winter Fuel Payments from vulnerable pensioners, pushing farmers to the brink with their vindictive Family Farms Tax and hammering families with a £3500 jobs tax, families are being punished for their disastrous decisions in government. Now we know why Keir Starmer never bothered to visit the area.” Tories got about 2,000 votes…
Farage says “the whole question of fairness” decided the campaign – paying “loads of tax” while men who have crossed the channel are housed at taxpayer expense. A Reform source says: “We said we were parking our tanks on Labour’s lawn and now we have taken one of their safest seats. Nearly every Labour seat is now in play.” Some shudders in Labour HQ…
More results from the locals coming in throughout the day…
Thursday’s Runcorn and Helsby by-election is Reform UK’s best shot yet at delivering a major blow to Starmer (who faces his first parliamentary by-election as PM). Reform came second in the constituency with 18% at the general election and it is Labour’s 16th safest seat, held since 1983. Though ex-Labour MP Mike Amesbury punching a constituent in the face is unlikely to be forgotten by voters…
Reform has rented a unit in Runcorn’s shopping mall to base their campaign HQ for their candidate and ex-magistrate Sarah Pochin. Farage has visited three times, Tice has visited twice, and both Lee Anderson and James McMurdock once during the campaign. Reform promised to throw the ‘kitchen sink’ at the seat after Amesbury was suspended and they have done so…
Both Pochin and Labour’s candidate, retired teacher Karen Shore (who had a constituent slam a door in her face earlier today), have pledged to shut down the infamous ‘migrant hotel’ in Daresbury – a hot-button issue on the doorstep. Predictably, both sides are calling the race “very tight” and “too close to call”. A Reform spokesman tells Guido: “This is going to be a close run by-election in a seat where Labour should be easily expected to hold it.” Sources close to Nigel Farage are briefing that he’s not expecting a win. Labour is also managing expectations, saying that this by-election “came about in very difficult circumstances and we’re campaigning for every vote. It’s going to be close, but Nigel Farage’s party was in pole position from the start”. Beyond the spin it does actually feel very close…
The Tories – who came third place with just 16% in the general election – will be doing well to maintain any kind of respectable vote share. A Tory spokesman says “Runcorn should be a safe Labour seat – especially after the Government’s supermajority just 9 months ago. But Labour’s policies have been a punch in the face for local residents.” It’s worth noting that boundary changes mean over half the old Weaver Vale constituency – which had been Tory-held since 2010 – has been folded into Runcorn and Helsby. This benefits Reform…
Meanwhile, Britain Elects is projecting the turnout to be between 55-68%, with Labour just clinging on: 36% to Reform’s 35%. A margin of around 400 votes. All to play for…
Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North MP Liam Byrne is taking flak today for extending his luxury trip to Japan instead of returning to his bin-struck constituency. Being recess there is no Westminster in which to hide…
Guido can reveal Byrne isn’t the only local elected Labour representative to keep his distance. Glasgow North MP Martin Rhodes popped down to Runcorn to campaign yesterday – he posted a picture of himself in the afternoon signing Labour’s “activist wall” where those who had campaigned could sign their names. Guido had a look at them…
Right in the middle of the board are the names of at least three identifiable Birmingham councillors – Waseem Zaffar, Bushra Bi, and Saima Suleman. Other Birmingham signatories use nicknames. They are also joined on the board by Paulette Hamilton, the MP for Birmingham Erdington. Seeing as Mike Amesbury resigned on 17 March, five days after the bin strike started, that means these individuals abandoned their patch to campaign for the party 100 miles away. Those signatures look fresh…
Nigel Farage is set to announce Sarah Pochin as Reform’s candidate for the Runcorn and Helsby by-election. Pochin was the former Mayor of Cheshire East Council and a former Bunbury Tory councillor. She’s also deleted her X account…
Labour have chosen retired teacher and deputy council leader Karen Shore while the Tories picked National Federation of Builders executive Sean Houlston. It’s worth remembering that Runcorn and Helsby is Labour’s 16th safest seat in the country. Reform will be hoping to increase their number of MPs back to five…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”
