Lib Dem gain from third place in Northamptonshire

Four principal authority council by-elections this week. Only two of them with Liberal Democrat candidates but that is one up on the last time these wards were up. And there’s more good news to add…

Many congratulations to Carl Squires and the team for such a huge swing, leapfrogging Labour and winning the seat. Especially given how cold the campaign had been:

Turning to other results:

Thank you to Andrew Joyce for getting the Lib Dems back on the ballot paper in this ward.

Elsewhere, a Conservative gain from Labour, one which means Labour has lost as many seats as it has gained from the Conservatives since the last May round of elections:

And finally:

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. But this week, these by-elections at the town/parish/community council level did catch my eye:

Winner Amanda Ineson is a trainee science teacher and said:

I am delighted to be elected and I would like to thank the people for coming out to vote, whoever they supported, on a windy and rainy day. Newton Abbot is a great town with strong heritage and real community feel to it, amazing local parks and lots of independent shops which should all be celebrated.

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: