Lib Dems win in Wiltshire with 19% vote share increase

Only one principal authority council by-election this week, a Liberal Democrat defence in Wiltshire:

Many congratulations to new councillor Richard Budden and the team.

The Good Morning leaflets were clearly worth it:

Two parish council by-election wins in the area too, both on Amesbury Town Council:

For what all this means for the running total of council by-election results since the last May elections, see my council by-elections scorecard here.

These by-election results round-ups cover principal authority by-elections as it’s only those for which comprehensive results are available.

Understanding the opinion polls

For understanding what is happening in politics, by-elections have the advantage of being real votes in real ballot boxes. But the opinion polls have the advantage of trying to be a representative sample of voters, not just those in the places that happen to have by-elections. To understand the polls properly – and what they do and don’t really tell us – see my book, Polling UnPacked: The History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls.

Get by-election results by email

If you sign up for my daily email with the latest pieces from this site, you’ll also get included as a little bonus the full set of council by-election results each week: