Local Council By-Elections October 2026 This month saw 49,764 votes cast in 26 local authority contests. All percentages are rounded to the nearest single decimal place. 15 council seats changed hands. For comparison with September's results, see here. Party Number of Candidates Total Vote % +/- Sep +/- Oct 25 Avge/ Contest +/- Seats Conservative 26 11,789 23.7% +5.4 +7.9 453 +2 Labour 23 11,495 23.1% +0.0 +10.6 500 +2 Lib Dem 19 5,225 10.5% -1.8 -14.4 275 0 Reform 26 10,225 20.5% +3.8 -9.4 393 -3 Green 17 4,107 8.3% -11.3 +0.3 242 0 SNP* 4 3,162 6.4% -0.4 +4.4 791 +1 PC** 1 397 0.8% +0.1 +0.8 397 +1 Ind*** 12 1,286 2.6% +1.7 -2.4 107 -4 Other**** 17 2,078 4.2% +2.3 +2.1 122 +1 * There were four by-elections in Scotland ** There were two by-elections in Wales *** There were two Independent clashes **** Others this month were Christian People's Alliance (26), Flint People's Voice (566), Heritage Party (10), Independence for Scotland (95), Restore (246, 228, 159, 151, 134, 124, 91, 79, 76, 72, 55), SPGB (9), Yorkshire Party (57) Another month of firsts! The first time Restore fielded more than 10 candidates. The first time Labour reported a net gain in councillors since August 2024. And, for the first time in the party's history, Reform ended a month with an overall loss of seats. If anyone was in any doubt, the Labour revival is real. The Reform decline is real. But, just edging it, the Tories were this month's winners. Can we take that as evidence of the so-called Keminaissance too? As the party has enjoyed a modest recovery in the polls, and is scrapping with Reform for second place again it would be churlish not to concede the point. This is far from the return of "proper" politics though. Labour, for example, continue to post a recovery in raw votes. But the net gains are a combination of this and Restore's very helpful interventions. By my reckoning, Rupert Lowe's retinue of fascists denied Reform six victories in total, all bar one to Labour's benefit. A warning there to Reform that even they can't ride the tiger of racist politics forever. It will turn around and eat you eventually. Looking at November, there are 24 by-elections to keep us interested. 10 are Labour defences, and seven are currently held by Reform. It could get bloody. 1 October Blackpool, Claremont, Lab hold Highland, Wick & East Caithness, LDem gain from Ind North West Leicestershire, Long Whatton & Diseworth, Con hold Northumberland, Amble, Lab gain from Ref Northumberland, Hirst, Lab gain from Ref Stirling, Forth & Endrick, Con hold 8 October Aberdeen, Rosemount/Midstocket, SNP hold Amber Valley, Kilburn, Denby, Holbrook & Horsley, Grn gain from Con Lambeth, Myatt's Fields, Lab hold Newcastle-under-Lyme, Town, Lab gain from Ref 13 October Stroud, Rodborough, Lab hold 15 October Flintshire, Higher Kinnerton, Oth gain from Ind Leicestershire, Shepshed, Lab gain from Ref Mid Devon, Bradninch, LDem hold Wiltshire, Salisbury Milford, LDem hold 22 October Carmarthenshire, Saron, PC gain from Lab East Hertfordshire, Hertford Kingsmead, Con gain from Grn Leeds, Calverley & Farsley, Con gain from Lab South Kesteven, Grantham St Wulfram's, Con gain from Ind Wychavon, Hartlebury, Con hold 29 October Argyll & Bute, Mid Argyll, SNP gain from Ind Bassetlaw, Worksop East, Ref gain from Lab Dudley, St James, Lab gain from Ref Halton, Beechwood & Heath, Ref gain from LDem Newark & Sherwood, Dover Beck, Con hold Nottinghamshire, Southwell, Con hold https://averypublicsociologist.blogspot.com/2026/10/local-council-by-elections-october-2026.html #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

John Healey's Little Budget Apart from stiffing recent graduates and dragging more people into higher tax bands, Martin Lewis was quite pleased with John Healey's budget statement. Which fits the label Aditya Chakrabortty applied to it: this was a budget to please everybody's favourite money expert. But what about the politics? This was far from the big offer Andy Burnham sold during his Labour leadership conference speech. Of the 10-year plan, there was nary a sign. Instead, this was a tinkerer's budget but one designed to land with a minimum of fuss. For example, £100 for everyone in council tax bands A to D to offset the projected hundred quid rise in the energy price cap will be appreciated. The scrapping of the standing charge and absorbing it into gas bills is redistributive in intent, and ticks the fairness box with those consuming the most expecting to pay more. Though pensioners dependent on heating and larger families might not be as sanguine. Likewise, taking tariffs off selected food products will save a few coins here and there. One not likely to make much of a difference to household budgets, but a decent indicator that the government understands cost of living pressures and are being seen to take action. If, however, one's budget earns an item of praise from Kemi Badenoch then something has gone wrong. In her reply to Healey, she welcomed his abandonment of efforts to equalise the minimum wage. In Tory land, fairness means you're less entitled to the same standard of living if you're under the age of 21. For the Conservative leader, this is something business has been lobbying for and will boost hiring rates and tackle the so-called NEET crisis. Will it though? What drives hiring are markets, the conditions determining whether hiring new employees offers a profitable return. Age wage differentials offer marginal help to small and medium-sized businesses. It's big business that would pocket most of the savings, and so won't do much if anything to lower the rates of younger people signing on. The more serious political problem for the chancellor is the freezing of the threshold for student loan repayments. Over 21s working full time on the minimum wage will now be liable for repayments, a true giveth with one hand and taketh with another measure almost designed to keep the Greens' lead among younger layers a semi-permanent feature of British politics. The wider politics of this was about keeping British business mollified, and given the endorsements Healey reeled off at the beginning of his speech that mission has been accomplished. The big promises made are light years from the Bolshevist dread that seizes the imaginaries of hyper-class conscious sections of capital whenever the meekest mild social democratic policies are raised. And so this settled jitters, drew sharp distinctions with the recklessness of the Liz Truss budget, made the doom-mongering of the right wing press look ridiculous, and keeps the government on the public's right side. Image Credit https://averypublicsociologist.blogspot.com/2026/10/john-healeys-little-budget.html #johnhealey #budget #martinlewis #adityachakrabortty #andyburnham #british #kemibadenoch #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Evading the Simple Fact The Green Party is officially over. Zack Polanski is yesterday's chip wrappings. They, like Reform, are done and we can go back to politics as usual. Such as being captivated by the attempted putsch against Ed Davey. This is the verdict of a swathe of the political establishment following Labour's handy victory over the Greens in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. Needless to say, this is just not a credible position. Looking at the vote, Labour's share more or less stood still - declining from 49% to 45%, whereas the Greens surged from 10% to 32%. Despite reports by politics Twitter personalities that Tories and Liberal Democrat voters were lending Labour their votes following the passing of the Zionism is Racism motion at last weekend's Green conference, their proportions were virtually static - indicating a marginal phenomenon, or an effort at attention-seeking. Determining which from which is up to you. Obviously, this result was helped by the decision of Andrew Feinstein, who came second in 2024, to not stand and endorse the Greens. But some might have expected the Greens to do better, seeing as they were standing their best known public figure. The reason Polanski didn't doesn't require preternatural powers of divination. Simply, politics has changed. For many Green-leaning Labour voters, their party is on the right track again. Andy Burnham has set out a destination, and enough are convinced that he's sincere about getting there. The polls tell this tale as well. The dip in the Greens' fortunes coincide with Burnham's anointing as Keir Starmer's successor. And it doesn't require any more in-depth analysis than this. When Labour put themselves at odds with the interests and outlooks of its voter coalition, supporters look elsewhere. Commentators will riff off conference motions and Polanski's social media faux pas, but they're playing an establishment avoidance strategy - an effort to evade and not present the simple fact that left wing solutions to problems, even when they're wrapped in soft left clothing, are popular. Image Credit https://averypublicsociologist.blogspot.com/2026/10/evading-simple-fact.html